A Hanyou's Life
by TripleMPK
Summary: The life of a hanyou is a long one indeed, but what do you do in between it all? Anything you want! But all this hanyou wants is to find her family. Pirates, magic, elves, and demons, oh my! Adventure awaits you inside!
1. Chapter 1

This is a first for me, so let me know what you think.

This is dedicated to Pippin-Polo-Prongs-Sango and everyone else who loves me so much! Yeah me!

**A Hanyou's Life**

'Damn it! Why does he have to come back tonight?' A raven-haired girl sat in the

pitch black of the ship's many cabins thinking to herself. 'And of all the nights to come

back on, he had to pick this one! I'm going to miss all the fun!' Now she was brooding. If

she let herself go on, something bad would happen, just like all the times before. 'Come

to think of it,' she thought to herself, ' he's been the cause of every one of those

_accidents.'_

'_Chica, let it go. This brooding will get you nowhere.'_

" Yeah, yeah, don't remind me." she said aloud. A knock sounded at the door that brought the girl quickly out of her thoughts. " Yeah! Whaddya want?" the girl barked.

A young boy stuck his head timidly through the door. "Captain wants to see you on deck pronto." came his timid reply.

'Damn it all to hell!' "Tell her I'm sick, baka!" the girl yelled.

"You're always sick, Mugen. ('_Boy, is this kid getting bold_,' Mugen thought.) Say, how come you only get sick on the night of the new moon?" the boy asked.

"That's none of your damn business! Now get the hell outta here!" Mugen screamed. And with that the boy was gone.

' _Shit.'_

Up On Deck

"Well?" the captain asked the trembling cabin boy.

"S-she's not coming, ma'am." he stuttered.

"And why the hell not?"

"S-sick," he managed out before he ran off in tears.

"Easy now, AnaMaria. Take it easy on the poor lad. He's only twelve, and he's probably already been yelled at by Mugen."

" I know, Gibbs. But damn it! Why does she have to choose tonight to be sick again?" AnaMaria asked exasperatedly. "Not only is Mugen 'sick', but I've got the rest of the crew scared of some ghost. And nobody's even seen it yet! They just say something about hearing a song about pirates!" Mr. Gibbs just shook his head and went back to studying the maps before him.

'Where is Jack?' AnaMaria thought to herself. 'He should have been back by now. And where the hell is this replacement he promised us?'

Flashback

"AnaMaria! Get up here, love!" Captain Jack Sparrow yelled from the deck. AnaMaria ran as quickly as she could. If Jack was calling for her, something big was up, and she did not want to miss it.

"You rang, boy-o?" she quipped rather breathlessly.

"Of course, love." Jack smiled. " I've heard rumor that Bootstrap's kid is trying to get a crew together. I plan on helping him with this little task."

"But, Jack…"

"No butts, AnaMaria. I'll be leaving in three days. And the next day, I'll be sending over my replacement. Treat her right."

End Flashback

That had been over nine months ago, and Jack had not returned. Mugen had arrived shortly after Jack's departure, claiming to be his replacement. AnaMaria had laughed at her. She let a chuckle escape past her lips at the memory. Mugen, an experienced captain! It was completely laughable! She was barely eleven! And yet she claimed to that she was the one to teach Jack to captain his own ship. The thought infuriated AnaMaria to no end. 'That impudent little brat!' she fumed. Just then, a pair of strong arms circled around AnaMaria's thin waist. She spun around only to come face to face with Jack Sparrow himself.

"Jack!"

"Hullo, love." Jack grinned. "Say, where's Mer-… I mean, Mugen?"

"Her? Pfft! She's _sick." _AnaMaria replied sarcastically.

"You there!" Jack called to a passing pirate. "Go find Mugen and tell her that her favorite pupil is back."

"Yessir!"

AnaMaria could do nothing but stare in complete shock as a raven-haired girl of eleven ran up to be enveloped in a bone-crushing hug by Jack.

"Merry! How the hell have ya been?"

"Jack!" AnaMaria screamed indignantly. "Who the _hell_ is this girl?"

"Whaddya mean, love? This is Mugen!"

"Mugen! _Mugen! _That girl is not Mugen! Mugen has silver hair and gold eyes! This little thing has black hair and, what are those? Purple eyes? Who the hell has purple eyes?"

"Calm down, love." Jack said softly. " This girl standing right here is, in fact, Mugen. Hang on, you'll figure everything out shortly. Say, Mugen, how far away is sunrise?"

"Gee, Jack, why don't you tell me?" Mugen bit back.

"I'd say only a few more minutes if your attitude is anything to go by." Jack laughed as Mugen hit his arm.

"AAAAHHHHHH! Get this mutt offa me!" Jack screamed in pain.

"Not until you say you're sorry for the comment about my attitude." Mugen snarled.

"Alright, alright," Jack conceded. "I'm sorry I made a comment about you that was completely true."

Mugen glared daggers into Jack's head , but none the less complied. "Kermit, it's okay. You can release him now." The little black and white dog released Jack's leg somewhat reluctantly and say down obediently by his 'mom'.

"Wait, just a damn minute!" AnaMaria screamed. She was confused beyond belief at this point and wanted some answers. " Who the hell is this girl? Why is there a dog on this ship without my permission? Why the hell where you gone so long? And where the hell is the captain you promised us ?" She was out of breath now, but she didn't care. She was pissed, damn it.

"Jackie, you got some splainin' to do," Mugen laughed.

Jack looked toward the east and then back at AnaMaria. "Listen, love. Just be patient for five more minutes, and then you'll get your answers. Savvy?"

"Fine," AnaMaria sighed.

"Good. Now sit back, relax, and enjoy the show." Jack smiled as he offered her a chair. AnaMaria shot her a questioning look but took the seat anyways. She knew Jack well enough to know he wouldn't say anything until he was ready.

"May I have you attention, please?" Mugen yelled. Everybody on deck turned towards her just as the first rays of sunlight splashed onto the ship.

AnaMaria let out a startled gasp as she beheld the sight in front of her. The young girl's raven locks began streaking with silver until every strand shimmered a silvery color in the morning sunshine. Two silver (and, might I add, very cute) dog ears were perched atop her head. Her nails, though already long, became sharp like claws, and when she grinned, the sun glinted off of her newly formed fangs. But what shocked AnaMaria the most was when the girl opened her eyes. Where once there was a deep violet, there was now an amazing golden color. There before her stood none other than Mugen.

**_Blanket disclaimer for A Hanyou's Life: _**

_**Me no own own, you no sue sue.**_

_**The only characters I claim are Mugen and Kermit, so far. **_


	2. Explanations

**_Sorry for the wait guys, but it's finally here! Hopefully, this chapter will clear up a few things._**

**Chapter 2**

Meanwhile back in Japan

SMACK!

"Myoga! I was wondering when you'd come around again."

"Master Inuyasha, it's so good to taste you again!" Myoga grinned.

"Whatever, flea," Inuyasha said. "What kind of useless information do you have for me now?"

"Well… Ah! Lady Kagome! How good to see you!" Myoga called. "You're just in time!"

"Really? What's going on, Myoga?" Kagome questioned.

"Well, I was just about to tell Master Inuyasha about his family, more precisely, his sibling."

"What has that bastard done now?" snarled Inuyasha.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome admonished.

"Actually, Master Inuyasha, I wasn't talking about Sesshomaru." Myoga explained. "I was talking about your sister."

"Feh! I think you've finally lost your mind old man." laughed Inuyasha. "I don't have a sister." He sat back with a smug look on his face and put his arms in his sleeves.

"Wait… Inuyasha has a sister?" Kagome asked.

"Why, yes. A twin sister, in fact." Myoga stated matter-of-factly.

"A twin! Myoga, you really are senile!" By now, Inuyasha was on the ground rolling with laughter.

"That's it! Inuyasha, Osuwari!" Kagome yelled over Inuyasha's laughter. "Go ahead Myoga. What all do you know about Inuyasha's sister?"

"Thank-you, Lady Kagome. As I was saying, the night of Master Inuyasha's birth, Lady Izayoi found out that she was having, not one, but two babies."

Flashback

Izayoi let out a long breath as the last contraction subsided. 'Where is he?' she thought to herself. 'He should have been here by now.' Pain racked through through her body again as she tried to hold in the scream. 'Toga, you asshole. I'm never letting you touch me again!' She could take no more of this! The pain was unbearable.

The midwife came quickly into the room upon hearing the muffled screams coming from Lady Izayoi. "Lady Izayoi, you must start pushing. If this baby does not come out soon, you both shall die." she said, worry evident in her voice.

Hours seemed to pass by slowly as Izayoi pushed with all her might. Finally, her hard work was rewarded by the strong cries of a child, her child.

"A boy," the midwife breathed softly. She handed the squirming and very pissed off infant to Izayoi before preparing for the afterbirth. "Oh, my!"

"What?" Izayoi asked. 'Something's wrong.' she thought worriedly. 'Something happened during the birth, and now I'm going to die. Oh, Toga, where are you?'

"Lady Izayoi? Lady Izayoi!"

"Yes?" she said being forced out of her bleak thoughts.

"I need you to push some more. I think I see another head."

Izayoi gaped at the woman in shock. Sure, it was unbecoming for a woman of her stature, but this woman was asking for the impossible! Izayoi was completely drained of strength. She couldn't push anymore, but knew she must if she were to survive for her baby boy. With a nod of her head, Izayoi started in the fight for her life and that of her unborn baby.

"Good, Lady Izayoi," the midwife said and hour and a half later. "One more good push, and we'll have this one out."

'Thank Kami.' Izayoi thought as she prepared for one last push.

"Good, good… Just a little bit more…. There!" the midwife cried. "Oh! She's a beautiful little girl!" She looked toward Lady Izayoi and screamed. She was dead. There was a large pool of blood around her body that was slowly spreading towards the baby boy lying just feet away. The midwife got up quickly to retrieve the child. A single tear rolled down her face as she looked at the two infants in her arms. "These poor children will never know their mother." she whispered softly.

"They will definitely know their mother."

The midwife turned around shocked at the deep male voice behind her. There, standing in the doorway, was the father of Lady Izayoi's children. The great dog demon himself. He slowly walked over to the midwife. She noticed the blood that dripped from his side. It looked like a pretty fatal wound, but she wasn't a healer. He gazed down at the twins in her arms. "They are so prefect." he said in his baritone timbre.

"Yes, they are, but their mother shall never know them."

"She will know them," he said as he walked over to his mate. The midwife watched as he unsheathed one of the swords from his side. He looked at it with such intensity. The sword pulsed…once….twice. The midwife gasped as the great dog demon brought the sword down over the woman lying on the floor. A few seconds passed. Then suddenly, Izayoi took a breath as if she were taking her first breath ever. Her eyes slowly fluttered open. "My love," she said as her eyes came to rest on her mate.

"Izayoi," he said softly with great affection in his voice, "You must take the pups and leave this place. Your life is in danger here." By now, the smell of smoke was evident to the two humans in the castle. Izayoi started to cough as the smoke started to enter the room. The dog demon brought a red haori out of his clothing and draped it about Izayoi's slim shoulders. He then walked over to the midwife and took the male pup from her arms. "Call the girl Inuai. Tell Izayoi this."

"Yes," she said, bowing low.

He took the male pup over to his mate who was still resting on the futon. He smiled down at the pup as he laid him in Izayoi's arms. "Hello little man." Izayoi cooed.

"It's time to go." Toga said as he helped Izayoi to her feet. He beckoned the midwife over and started explaining the easiest way out. Just as he was beginning to usher the women out, a couple of guards came storming into the room with their swords drawn. Toga turned around with a snarl. "Get out of here!" he called over his shoulder. The midwife didn't stick around to dispute the order. Izayoi opened her mouth to try and argue, but was stopped by a softly uttered word.

"What?"

"Inuyasha. I want you to name him Inuyasha." he said. "Now go." He slowly unsheathed the sword on his back. Izayoi nodded in understanding and fled from the room, clutching the child to her chest.

End Flashback

"So, how come I've never heard of this sister until now?" questioned Inuyasha.

"Well," Myoga began, "the midwife and your mother were separated during their escape from the castle. The midwife tried for years to find your mother, but to no avail. Then one day, she learned of your mother's death and decided, that to honor her, she would continue to raise the child as her own with the name your father gave her."

"Wow. So where is she now, Myoga?" Kagome asked excitedly.

"Alas, I do not know. But after talking to Sesshomaru, he has agreed to help you find her. If that is what you wish, Master Inuyasha."

"Yeah, Myoga. Let's find my sister."

Back on the Black Pearl

AnaMaria sat in complete shock. There was Mugen, standing right where the raven haired girl had stood just moments prior. 'Get a hold of yourself, girl. The morning sunlight is playing tricks on your mind.' "Ouch!" she exclaimed as she pinched herself.

"What happened?" Jack exclaimed as he spun around to face AnaMaria.

"Nothing. Just making sure I wasn't dreaming." AnaMaria laughed dryly.

"Riiight. Okay! You wanted some answers, so here they are! One, that girl was, is Mugen. Two, this little mongrel," Kermit growled in indignation, "is Mugen's darling 'ahem' _son_. And he doesn't leave her side, so he let himself aboard whether he got permission or not. Which he did." AnaMaria gave him a questioning glance, but Jack ignored it. " Three, Will wanted me to stay on as first mate til he got a handle on everything. And as for the captain I promised you, well, she's been here the entire time."

"Wait! What? If this captain has been here the whole damn time, then why the hell didn't he come forward?" AnaMaria demanded.

Mugen sat back and watched as the whole exchange took place with an evil grin on her face. 'This is going to be good.'

'_Chica, be careful. You know about AnaMaria's temper all too well.'_

'Yeah, yeah.'

'_And look and Jack. He's trying so hard to keep his anger in check.'_

'Alright already!' "Hey, Jack, why don't I take over for you?" Mugen asked cautiously.

Jack looked over at Mugen with absolute relief evident on his face. "Sure, take over." he said gratefully.

"Okay, AnaMaria, here's the deal. I'm a hanyou. Speaking in layman's terms… I'm a half-demon. And while I may only look about 11 or 12, in all actuality, I'm about 650 years old." Mugen looked toward AnaMaria to see her just sitting there slack-jawed. "Hey, are you okay?"

AnaMaria slowly looked toward Jack to see if what she had just heard was actually the truth or if Mugen and Jack were just pulling her leg. Unfortunately for AnaMaria, this was no joke, and Mugen was tilling the truth. By noon, AnaMaria was beginning to believe that Mugen was a half demon who was 650 years old, and that she had indeed taught Jack everything he knew about being a pirate.

"Right, now that you've gotten your mind wrapped around that… Mugen, I believe that Will is looking forward to seeing you again." Jack said.

"In that case, I'll see you guys later." Mugen said as she picked up Kermit and stepped onto the side of the ship. "Oh, and Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"Tel the girl you love her, cuz she's crazy about you." And with that, Mugen jumped off the side of the ship into the ocean.

**_Blanket disclaimer for A Hanyou's Life:_**

**_Me no own own. You no sue sue._**

**_I only own Mugen and Kermit, so far._**


	3. 100 Years Later

_As a special treat for you guys, here's the third chapter. _

_Merry Chirstmas everyone!_

_May Christ's love be with each and every one of you._

**Chapter 3**

100 years later

Mugen's POV

Well, it's been quite awhile since I last saw Jack, AnaMaria, and Will. Jack and AnaMaria married soon after Jack took my advice. They had a couple of kids together, and surprise, surprise… their kids became pirates. Will tried to get Elizabeth Swann to marry him, but she married Norrington instead because of some stupid promise she had made a few years earlier. That decision crushed Will to no end. It was a good thing that he had me around to help him out. He had more girls swooning over him than he could shake a stick at, and before long, he had forgotten all about Elizabeth. Then one day, came word that she had had a child, a son, whom she named Will, after her one true love. Apparently, that sent Norrington over the edge cuz he up and left Elizabeth and Will homeless and penniless. Well, leave it to good ole Will Sr., he went to her rescue in a heartbeat, and they rekindled their love affair. They were married soon after and had many kids together.

But unfortunately, as it always does, time passes and so do the people around me. After all my old pirate buddies passed on, I decided to get out of the pirate business for good and settle down. So when my ship docked in England, I made my first mate the new captain, and set out to find a new life. I found myself a house in a little village by the sea. I stayed there in that peaceful village for fifty years before I got restless and craving adventure. So I hopped on the next ship out of England.

I seemed to be constantly drawn toward Japan. And after trying to ignore it for months, I finally gave in to the call of my youki. I landed in Japan six months after leaving England, and I immediately felt at home. I traveled around the land until I came upon the region known as Musashi. I kept noticing everyone around me looking at me curiously, so at the next village I came to, I decided to get myself some new clothes to blend in with the locals a little better. Not that I don't like my pirate garb, but I absolutely hate sticking out like a sore thumb. I managed to find a hakama and haori in my absolute favorite color, red. I must admit, I looked good. So after my change of attire, I continued on my journey.

SMACK!

'What the hell?'

"Master Inuya… You're not Inuyasha, but you taste so alike." a little flea demon said to me from his perch on my hand.

"Who the hell are you? And who the hell is this Inuyasha creep?"

"Oh, my! You're … You're … I must go tell Master Inuyasha at once!" And with that, the flea was gone.

'What a strange little man.'

Soon after my little encounter with the flea, I headed over to the continent. I traveled all over both Asia and Europe. Whilst in Germany, I met a couple of brothers who amazed me with what they could do with some simple chalk drawings and their own two hands. Edward and Alphonse Elric. They kept talking about looking for something called a philosopher's stone. Their reasons for finding this particular stone persuaded me to help them in their quest. It's just so sweet that they would both want the same thing to restore the other's body. I so wish I had a family like that. Don't get me wrong, I loved the family who raised me, but I never felt like I fit in. I knew they were not my real family because I was so different from the rest of the children. And anytime I asked what my real family was like, my 'mom' would look at me with such sadness and pity in her eyes and tell me to go play or something. But I do have to give the old woman some credit. On her deathbed, she told me that my mother's name was Izayoi, and that I had a brother. So for a few years, I went looking for my mother until someone told me that she was dead. Thanks a lot old woman, you gave me a name that led to a dead end. No pun intended. And since I didn't have a name for my brother, and everyone I met knew nothing, I abandoned my search and got into the pirating business where you didn't need a family except the crew you were with. Okay, enough getting nostalgic, and back to Ed and Al. We eventually did find the philosopher's stone. Some guy by the name of Nicholas Flamel had it. So we went to England. Of course, it wasn't an easy trip. We kept running into these creatures, who called themselves homunculi. Apparently, they wanted this stone to make themselves completely human. Well, I ended up killing the one known as Gluttony. Now, before you say anything, it was purely self-defense. I mean, come on. The guy wanted to eat me. He actually tried to eat me! (Get your minds out of the sewer people!) so, I did want I had to, to survive. That meant killing him. Well, while I was taking care of Gluttony, Lust took care of Ed's arm by shattering it. So, after the fight, we made a trip to Ed and Al's hometown of Rizenbul, where I met Ed's mechanic, Winry Rockbell. Boy, is that girl a piece of work! Totally in love with machinery (and Ed), but can she ever throw a wrench. Trust me, I still have the lump on my head to prove it. She was so good at fixing up Ed's arm that I promised to bring by anyone who needed her services. I swear, you do anything nice for that girl, and she'll thank you to the moon and back… twice.

So, after getting Ed's arm fixed, we got back on the road for the stone. To make a long story short, we found Nicholas, got the stone, made Ed and Al whole again, and they lived happily ever after. Believe it or not, Ed and Winry even got together. Ah, love! It makes me sick! Bleech!

After leaving the happy couple and Al, I continued on my journey only to wind up back in England. I was walking around this one particular village, when I heard of some kind of supposed gateway that the Druids had built. The people called it Stonehenge and said that it was a gateway to another place. Well now this I had to see. So I made my way up north to Stonehenge. I must've gotten there on just the right day cuz all of a sudden, a bright light engulfed the whole of Stonehenge. As the light faded, I looked up to see the most amazing creature ever! Long blond hair, amazing blue eyes, and pointed ears. He had a lithe little body that I couldn't help thinking naughty little things about. Damn! This guy was fine! And if I didn't know any better, I would have sworn he was a demon, but he didn't smell like one. Trust me, I've smelt a lot of demons in my day, and boy do they reek!

The guy calmly walks over to me and embraces me as if he knows me. Well, let's just say this freaks me out a little bit. Okay, a lot a bit. So I start demanding answers, like, who the hell he is, where the hell he came from, and well, you get the idea.

He starts laughing, and tells me that I'm the one he's been looking for. He then takes hold of my arm, and we are transported to this place that looks nothing like England. Actually, it doesn't look anything like any place I've ever been to. He then sits down on the grass as if nothing even happened and gestures for me to do the same.

"MY name is Legolas Greenleaf. I'm the elven prince of Mirkwood. Where we are now is Middle Earth. I was sent out by my father to find a suitable bride from you realm, one that will be as strong as I am. Last night, I dreamt that I would find you, and thus I have." he finished with a smug smile on his face.

'Okay, this guy is certifiable. Really good looking, but crazy.'

He continued to tell me that I am the perfect person to be the queen to his people. With the power that I would soon possess, and my long lifespan, that I was the only person who could help him lead his people when his father stepped down.

'_Chica, he's hot! I think we should check into this Mirkwood place.'_

"So, what's this Mirkwood like?"

"It's amazing! There are trees everywhere! In fact, we build our houses in them. You will love it there, and my people will love you. But first, you must find you family. Without them, you will not be able to come into your power. For now, I must take you back to your realm and leave you there. You still have things you must accomplish before you can become queen. We must go now." He calmly and gracefully got to his feet and held out his hand for me. As soon as out hands touched, we were transported back to Stonehenge, and I was alone again

'_Oh… my… Kami. Was he hot or what?'_

'_You don't have to tell me twice, chica.'_

'_I think if we see him again…'_

'_We should definitely take him as our mate.'_

'_Yeah.'_

As I truned to leave, I noticed a large barn owl with a letter clutched in it's beak. It kept looking at me strangely, so I went over to see what the letter had to say. I took the letter from the wol, only to notice that the name on the envelope was mine. Inuai. Nobody had called me that for centuries. Not since I left Japan. I slowly turned the letter over in my hands, still in shock that anybody in this time would know my name. _'Hogwarts, what a strange name for a school.'_

'_So I'm to go and learn magic and become a witch, huh?'_

'_Maybe this is the power that Legolas spoke of/'_

'_You could very well be right. And it looks like we're to show up a week before the school year even starts.'_

'_Yeah, I wonder why.'_

So I set out on my journey to find Hogwarts and find this power that Legolas spoke of. There was just one thing missing: my family.

'_Maybe I'll find them there.'_

_**Blanket disclaimer for A Hanyou's Life:**_

_**Me no own own. You no sue sue.**_

_**The only people I own are Mugen/Inuai and Kermit, so far.**_


	4. The Hogwarts Years

_Thank you guys for being so patient during the last couple of weeks. Here's the first of two cahpters I promised you. The second one should be up by Monday._

**Chapter 4**

Inuai stood amongst the group of first years awaiting entrance into the Great Hall. She could feel the nervousness of everyone around her as if it were a palpable thing. She slowly rocked back and forth on her feet in an effort to keep her own nervousness at bay. If she let her emotions get out of hand now, the glamour charm she had worked so hard on to perfect would come off. It was the last thing in the world she wanted to happen. Inuai looked around and noticed a young girl with auburn hair and dazzling green eyes walking towards her.

"Hey." the girl said as she stopped in front of Inuai.

"Hey, yourself," she said back, a bit gruffly.

"Umm… my name is Lily. What's yours?" the girl asked quietly.

Inuai thought quickly, trying to come up with some name other than her own. "It's Inuai." she said much to her surprise. She had never told anyone her real name before. "But please don't call me that." she added hastily.

"Why not?" Lily asked.

"I just don't want anybody to know my real name. I don't even know why I told you."

"So, what _do_ I call you?"

"How about…" Inuai thought hard for a moment. "Merry." she said with a smirk.

"Merry?" Lily questioned with a disbelieving look on her face.

"Yeah, I mean, I'm a merry sort of person _some days. _So, call me Merry." she reasoned.

"Alright, Merry it is!" Lily laughed. Just then, an older woman, who had addressed herself earlier as Professor McGonagall, stepped in front of the group. "It's time," she announced to the group. "Follow me."

Two by two, the children followed her through the giant double doors that lead to the Great Hall. Up ahead of them, stood a three-legged stool with a ragged looking hat. It looked to Merry as if one touch would cause it to break down into strips of fabric or dust.

The children watched nervously as Professor McGonagall stepped up beside the stool with a scroll in her hands.

"When I call your name, step forward, place the hat on your head, and you will be sorted into your house." she said stiffly. She unrolled the parchment and began to read.

Merry and Lily stood nervously, waiting for their names to be called, when suddenly a dung bomb went sailing through the crowd causing everyone to start coughing and covering their faces. Merry turned toward the sound of laughter behind them, trying very hard not to pass out as the smell from the dung bomb hit her nose harder then the rest of the group. Her eyes met the ice blue eyes of a young boy with black locks just seconds before she hit the floor.

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Merry slowly opened her eyes to find herself in a strange room filled with beds. She quickly sat up and looked around.

"Oh, good. You're awake." said a male voice beside her. Merry quickly turned towards the voice. There sitting by her bed was the same boy from the Great Hall.

"And you are?" Merry asked tentatively.

"Sorry," the boy replied. "I'm Sirius Black." He smiled as he said this, and Merry couldn't help but smile back. She had to admit, he was a good-looking kid.

'We might have to have a little fun with him.'

'But what about Legolas?'

'I didn't say we were going to mate with this Sirius kid, just have a little fun.'

'I think I could handle a little fun.'

"So…. Are you just going to sit there with a silly, and might I add very sexy, smile on your face, or are you going to tell me your name?" Sirius asked cheekily. Merry just slowly shook her head and smiled at him.

"Okay…. I'm going to, uh, go get Madam Pomfrey and let her know you're awake." Sirius said as he got up and slowly moved towards the office.

"I wonder what that was all about?" Merry wondered aloud. Just then Madam Pomfrey come bustling over to her bed and gasped.

"Your… your ears!" she exclaimed.

"My ears? What's wrong with my ears?" Merry asked confused.

"You have _dog_ ears!" Madam Pomfrey practically screamed. Merry quickly dropped her ears to her head in an effort to block out the sounds around her as she reached for her wand to quickly mutter the simple glamour charm she had been taught.

"Sorry, my charm must have come off without my knowing it." Merry explained. "Oh, shit!"

"Ms. Inuai! Please watch your language!"

"Sorry, but that boy, Sirius, saw me like this. He knows what I really look like."

"I'm sure he didn't see anything." Madam Pomfrey tried to reassure her. Inuai was released from the hospital wing a few hours after Dumbledore made sure she was sorted, knew the password, and the way to her common room. She slowly made her way towards the Gryffindor common room, silently hoping Lily had been made a Gryffindor as well. The fat lady swung aside after Inuai had given her the password. She carefully stepped into the common room and looked around, hoping to find someone she knew. She spied a black haired boy sitting on a couch close to the fire. Inuai timidly walked over. "Hey."

The boy turned around and nearly fell to the floor. Inuai groaned inwardly. 'Great. It just had to be him.' "Sirius, right?"  
"uh… y-yeah." he stuttered. "Where are your ears?"

"They're on the side of my head, just like yours are." she replied sarcastically.

"No, I mean your …_other_ ears."

"Right. I guess I can't just let that go huh?" she asked. Sirius just stared at Inuai as if he expected her to sprout wings and fly at any moment. "Okay, you wanna know the truth?" Sirius slowly nodded his head, still looking very dumbstruck. "Fine, but you might want to sit down first." He slowly got up from his prone position on the ground and resumed his seat on the couch. Inuai slowly made her way around to take a seat, noticing that Sirius never took his eyes off of her.

"BOO!"

"AAAHHHH!" Sirius screamed as he toppled onto the floor once again.

"I'm sorry," Inuai said between fits of laughter. "I just couldn't help myself." She extended her hand to help him, but he scooted away and a took a seat farther away, all the while looking fearfully at her. "I guess I deserved that." she said sadly as she sat down.

Sirius relaxed a little, feeling guilty for hurting the beautiful girl sitting before the fire. He watched the firelight dance on her face and was instantly drawn to her. He knew it would be wise to get to know her. He quietly got up from his seat and moved back toward the couch where Inuai sat. "So… um…" he started out lamely. "What about those ears I saw earlier?"

Inuai looked up, startled as she hadn't sensed his approach. "Are you sure you want to know?"

"Yeah." Sirius said softly.

"Okay, but you must promise me that you won't utter a word of this to anyone." Inuai said seriously.

"Cross my heart, hope to die." he said. "Besides, I've kept a friend's secret for years now."

Inuai couldn't help but smile at that. 'Good.' she thought. 'At least, I know my secret will be safe.' It was 3 A.M. before Inuai got to her dorm, but she knew that Sirius would keep her secret of being a hanyou.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hey, Padfoot!"

"Yeah, what?"

"you going to Potions?"

"What do you think? You're going to the same damn class, Siri!"

Sirius quickly caught up to Padfoot and Lily as they descended the stairs to the dungeons.

"So Sirius, why do you call Merry, Padfoot?" Lily asked.

"No reason, it's just a nickname. Just like when James calls you Lil." Sirius said with a smirk on his face. Sirius had called Merry that since the day he found out she was half _dog _demon.

Padfoot watched as Sirius and Lily walked ahead of her toward the classroom, laughing and picking on each other. 'I can't believe it's been five years since I started here. It seems like just yesterday I got my letter.' A shout from down the hallway roused Inuai out of her musings.

"Hey, Padfoot! Move your tail before you're late!" Padfoot quickly made her way into her seat seconds before the professor entered the room and started class.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DADA was next, and Inuai couldn't help but wish to be some where else. Professor Kettlebaum always went out of his way to torture her in some way or another. 'And today doesn't look to be any different.' she thought as she neared the classroom where Kettlebaum lurked just outside.

"Ah, Miss Merry," Kettlebaum said in a sickeningly sweet voice that made her wonder if she would need to see a dentist after hearing it. "How nice of you to join us today. I'm sure will just _love_ today's lesson." He smiled evilly at her as she scurried into the room.

"What was that all about?" Lily asked as they took their seats behind Sirius, James, and Remus.

"What was what all about?" Remus asked as he turned around. James and Sirius followed suit, interested to find out what was going on with their two favorite girls.

"It's just Kettlebaum trying to get under my skin." Merry supplied. "In fact, I think I've got a cavity from how sickeningly sweet he was acting." she said as she rubbed her jaw in mock pain. The group's laughter was brought to an abrupt halt as the door slammed shut, and Professor Kettlebaum strode toward the front of the class.

"Forget you books." he said sternly. "You won't need them today." The students looked around at each other hoping someone knew what was going on. Merry simply sat back in her chair with her arms crossed over her chest and glared at Professor Kettlebaum.

"Who can tell me the difference between a youkai and a hanyou?" he asked as he looked around at the sea of confused faces before him. He smirked as he locked eyes with a defiant glare. "Merry, perhaps you'd care to entertain us?" he asked cynically. Everyone turned toward the back of the room where Merry sat glaring daggers at Kettlebaum.

"Ah, why the hell not?" she said sarcastically. Kettlebaum gave her a look daring her to step out of line again.

"Well.."

"Okay, youkai is a Japanese word, that translated, means demon. So, a youkai is a full-fledged demon. The word hanyou also comes from the Japanese language. Translated, this word means half-demon. Pretty much, the words youkai and hanyou translate to exactly what they are." Merry explained.

"Very good. Now would you care to explain _how _you know all this." Kettlebaum said with a sneer.

'Careful, chica. He knows something, and he's trying to trap us'

'I know, I know. Just shut up, will you?'

"That's easy, sir." Merry replied. "I was born in Japan and lived there for a few years."

"And you know all about youkais and hanyous, how?"

"Many parents tell their children stories about demons to get them to behave. Most of my brothers and sisters were told such stories."

"Then perhaps you heard the story about Inuyasha?" Kettlebaum asked.

"No, sir. I didn't hear any stories about Inuyasha." Merry spat. She clearly recalled the villagers confusing her with this Inuyasha guy. Even that stupid flea that decided to suck her blood.

"The perhaps you have heard the legend of the Shikon no Toma?"

"Cant's say that I have. Maybe you'd care to enlighten me now." Merry deadpanned.

"Certainly. As soon as everyone starts TAKING NOTES!" Kettlebaum bellowed. Instantly, quills and parchment started to fly as students tried to do as they were told before they last house points.

"Now, legend tells of a jewel that was sought after by many demons and humans alike. It was said that just a fragment of this jewel could make the holder ten times more powerful. The first miko to guard this jewel, the Shikon no Toma, was very powerful, for she could take down a demon with a single arrow.

Now, a hanyou, by the name of Inuyasha, tried several times to steal the jewel from the miko. Every other demon that came after the jewel, the miko slayed. But she never killed Inuyasha. This baffled him to no end. He soon came to find out that the miko had feelings for the hanyou because they lived very similar lives. Inuyasha and the miko soon formed a relationship of sorts.

Around this same time, the miko found and started to help a wounded bandit by the name of Onigumo. Onigumo coveted the miko and the jewel she possessed. There was just one problem. Due to the extent of his injuries, Onigumo was unable to move. So he called forth all the demons in the area to devour his body so the he might make the miko his own. Unfortunately, the demons had other plans. The demons wanted the jewel. So the demons merged wit Onigumo to become a hanyou named Naraku.

Naraku immediately set out to get the Shikon no Toma. He turned both the miko and Inuyasha against each other, resulting in Inuyasha being sealed to a tree."

The bell tang as Professor Kettlebaum finished telling the class about the defeat of Naraku. "SIT!" he ordered. Inuai distinctly felt as though she were being pulled to the ground at the word. 'That was weird.' she thought.

"By the next class, I want you to give me your interpretation of what Inuyasha looks like, and what you think happened to the Shikon no Toma." Kettlebaum glanced around the room. "Now, you are dismissed."

**_Blanket disclaimer for A Hanyou's Life: _**

**_Me no own own. You no sue sue._**

**_I only own Inuai and Kermit, so far._**


	5. Family and Transformations

_Well, here it is. The second chapter I promised. I know it's a bit late, but I have to work to support myself and my 'son.' _

_Newayz... Hope you all enjoy the latest installment._

__

_**Chapter 5**_

The little group sat outside in the sunshine by the lake. James and Lily snuggled in each other's arms while Sirius and Remus played a game of wizard's chess, which Remus was currently winning. "Say, Sirius, where's Merry?" Lily asked from her spot on James' lap. Sirius looked toward the tree they were sitting under.

"Up there," he said smiling and pointing to the very top.

"Should've known." Lily mumbled.

"I heard that!" Merry yelled from her perch. She quickly and nimbly jumped down to join her friends.

"You hear everything, Merry." Remus grumbled.

"Yeah, you're just jealous cuz she can hear better than you." Sirius laughed. Merry smacked Sirius on the back of the head and leaned down to tell a chess piece to move.

"Checkmate." she said, standing up with a satisfied grin on her face.

"What?" Remus exclaimed. He looked at the board in shock. Merry was right. He'd be checkmated. "Okay, Merry. Have a seat." Remus said while he reset the board.

"Fine, but be prepared to lose."

"Is that a threat?" Remus countered.

"That's a threat, offer, _and_ a promise." Merry smirked.

"Merry!" McGonagall shouted as she came toward the group in a hurry. "You're needed in Dumbledore's office immediately."

Everyone looked toward Merry wondering what she had _not_ done this time. She carefully got up all the while looking at McGonagall trying to figure out what was going on. Deciding that she wasn't going to get anything out of the old bat, she made her way up to the castle.

"Professor? Did you tell her the password?" Lily asked curiously.

"No, I believe I didn't." she said distractedly as she turned back to the castle.

As Inuai neared the castle, she realized she didn't know the password.. 'Shit!'

'Don't worry, chica. We both know what the window is. We've had to use it before in an emergency.'

'Fine.'

Inuai nimbly jumped up the outer wall towards the tower to where Dumbledore would be waiting. She got to the tower and found an open window to go in. 'Guess he was expecting me.'

"Ah, Inuai. Glad you come so promptly." Dumbledore twinkled as he turned around. "You have some visitors who wish to speak to you." Inuai looked to where Dumbledore gestured and noticed two men off to the side in the sitting room. "Gentlemen, this the girl you were inquiring about, Inuai." Dumbledore said as the men stood. "And this is Reginald James and Andrew Gerald. I'll leave you so you can talk privately." The three sat awkwardly as Dumbledore left.

Inuai looked over at the two men sitting before her. Reginald was a rotund man with large jowls and a bushy mustache. He was dressed rather snappy with a crisp suit. Just one thing seemed out of place on this man. Over his shoulder was a big piece of something that could only be described as fluff.

The other man, Andrew, was thin with a lithe body. He had short silver hair and ince blue eyes. He was also dressed in a crisp suit, but did not have the fluff.

"Miss… Inuai, was it?" Andrew inquired leaning forward in his chair. "You can drop your glamour charm now."  
Inuai looked a little skeptical. She didn't know these men! There was no way she was letting her charm down now.

"You don't have to worry as both Andrew and I are youkais." Reginald reassured her. Inuai slowly shook her head to release the charm. Soon her ears were twitching about finally free of the charm. She timidly smiled at the two men, wondering what the could possibly want with her.

"So, who are you exactly? And what do you want from me?" she asked quietly.

Reginald looked kindly at Inuai, and she was reminded vaguely of Dumbledore.

"Miss Inuai, my name is Reginald James, and I am the English Tai-Youkai.. Mr. Gerald, here, is my second in command." Inuai nodded politely to each gentleman in turn. "The Japanese Tai-Youkai, Sesshomaru, has sent missives out to each of the world's tai-youkais, asking each of us to find a certain hanyou."

"And who is he looking for?  
"You, my dear." the tai-youkai said gently as he leaned forward in his chair making him look more like a teddy bear.

:But why is he looking for me?" Inuai asked incredulously. "I've never done anything to him. Hell! I don't even know him!"

"Don't fret too much, miss." Andrew said.

"Yes, there is a very good reason for his seeking you out. It seems he is looking for his half-sister. She is the twin to the legendary hanyou, Inuyasha, who persuaded Sesshomaru into helping him look for you." Reginald explained.

"Who says I'm this long-lost twin?" Inuai asked.

"The twin's name is Inuai." The two men looked at the slack-jawed girl sitting across from them. "Miss Inuai? Are you alright?"

Inuai slowly looked from one man to the other. "Are… are you sure about this?" she asked timidly. "I mean, there's really no way of truly knowing if I'm this long lost twin." She was starting to recover from the shock and coming back into her own.

"There's only one way we can be sure that you're the girl they're looking for." Reginald said as he looked kindly at the young girl before him. "You could meet both Sesshomaru _and _Inuyasha in Japan."

"Exactly," Andrew said as he picked up where Reginald had left off. "We well be able to set up a meeting with them."

"That'd be fine, I guess." Inuai shrugged.

"Great!" Andrew exclaimed as he stood abruptly. "I'll make arrangements for you immediately. The meeting can be scheduled for this Friday, and then you can get to know your family." He was practically jumping with excitement.

"Now wait just a damn minute!" Inuai shouted as she jumped out of her seat coming nose to nose with the fox youkai. "I never agreed to anything!"

"Please, do calm down a minute." Reginald said softly. "I'm sure we can work this out reasonably." Both Inuai and Andrew looked at the tai youkai sheepishly as they sat down. "Now, I'm sure, Andrew, that we can work around Miss Inuai's school schedule. Now, I believe the summer break is coming up?"

"Yes, sir."

"Alright. Andrew, you shall make arrangements for the young lady's trip for this summer. If that is convenient for you?" the tai youkai said as he looked toward Inuai.

"Well…" she stalled.

"Yes? Is there a problem?"

"It's just that, I always stay with Lily during the summers, and her parents would be awful upset if I didn't show up. And besides, who says I even want to go and meet these two?" The two men looked at Inuai with confusion written across their faces. "I'm sorry." she said as she stood quickly. "This is just too much right now. I have to go." She quickly darted over to the window and jumped out, not even looking back once.

"Well, that could've gone worse."

"Padfoot!"

"Siri, please go away. I don't want to see or talk to anyone right now." Inuai said as she turned her back to him, hoping he wouldn't see the tears in her eyes that threatened to fall.

"Padfoot." Sirius said softly as he placed his hand gently on her shoulder. "I don't expect you to tell me what happened to make you so upset, but please don't shut me out." Inuai tried to choke back a sob, but to no avail as she turned quickly into Sirius' arms, shocking the hell out of him in the process.

"Oh, Siri. What am I going to do?" she cried into his shoulder. Sirius didn't know what to do other than to try and comfort his closet friend.

"Shhh, it's ok. Whatever it is, we'll figure it out together." he said in a soothing voice. Slowly, Inuai's tears subsided and she looked up at Sirius with a grateful smile on her somewhat red face.

"Thanks, Siri. I don't know what I'd do with out you."

"Don't worry your pretty little head, I'll always be here for you." he grinned cheekily. "Hey, I know something that'll make you forget your troubles in a heart beat."

"Really? And what, pray tell, is that?" Inuai asked mischievously.

"Your four favorite Marauders have found a way to become animagi."

"No way!"

"Of course. Did you ever doubt us with Remus helping us?" Sirius laughed.

"Well… no, not really." Inuai said sheepishly. "I want to be one, too. You promised me I could."

"Alright, let's go find the others. I think Lily's going to join in on the fun."

By the end of the night, there were three new animagi running about the grounds of Hogwarts. A stag, carry a young woman on it's back, a large black dog, and a small white dog.

**_Blanket disclaimer for A Hanyou's Life: _**

**_Me no own own. You no sue sue._**

**_The only characters I own are Inuai (and all her aliases) and Kermit, so far._**


	6. Graduation and Home

_Hey guys sorry about the long wait, but hopefully it'll be well worth it. In case any of you are wondering, Inuai's animagus form closely resemblances a Japanese Spitz. They are beautiful dogs, and I thought it would add a little humor for later on. Anyways, on with the story!_

**Chapter 6**

Sesshomaru sat behind the great cherry desk in his study perusing letters from all the tai youkais. All the responses were along the same lines, '_Found a girl who fits the description, but has a different name.' 'Found girl with same name, but doesn't fit the description.' _and then there was the one he had received yesterday from England.

"Well, what have you found out?" Inuyasha called as he stormed into the study.

"You would think that after 800 years you would acquire some manner and respect for another's privacy."

"Keh! Whatever, you old bastard." Inuyasha spat with a grin firmly on his face. "Now get on with it."

Sesshomaru shot his brother a wary look, "All the letters say the same thing. Nobody's found her. But _this_ letter," he held up a letter, "interests me."

"Yeah, why?" Inuyasha asked as he tried, in vain, to snatch the letter away.

"Because, baka, it sounds as if the English tai youkai has found your sister."

Inuyasha jumped from his chair nearly knocking it over. "So, let's go get her!" he cried heading for the door.

"It's not that easy, Inuyasha." Sesshomaru said softly.

"Why the hell not?" Inuyasha bellowed.

"Because of her reaction." Inuyasha looked at Sesshomaru with confusion evident on his face. Sesshomaru gestured to a seat as he continued. "When she was told of us and our search for our little sister, she said that it was too much and preceded to run from the room."

"So? What's that got to do with us going to get her?"

"She needs time to sort things out. She mat have tried to find her family before only to come up empty handed. And now, to have a family thrust on her all at once… it's bound to be a bit overwhelming."

"So, what are we supposed to do?" Inuyasha asked gruffly. He was sitting with his arms crossed, and the infamous 'pout' set firmly on his face.

"We wait until she's ready. Until then, we can't do anything." Sesshomaru replied gently. "She's quite a bit like you actually."

"Yeah, and how's that?" Inuyasha scowled. A smirking Sesshomaru was never a good thing, and this was no different.

"You're both stubborn as mules, and it has to be your idea before you do anything."

"Oi!"

**

* * *

**

"I present to you, our graduating class!" Dumbledore proclaimed to the gathered audience. A round of cheers went out from every part of the Hogwarts grounds as the graduates were handed their diplomas and got ready to say their good-byes.

Inuai mingled among the crowd, meeting everybody and their mothers, quite literally, and receiving many hugs and congratulations.

"Hey, Pads! Come meet my parents!" James yelled from across the lawn. She started walking over to where James stood with his parents, when she was stopped short.

'That's and interesting scent.'

'Yeah. Smells like inu youkai.'

'We'll check it out later. James is waiting.'

"Mum, Dad. This is my friend, Merry. She's really very bright, and if it weren't for her and Lily, I probably wouldn't have graduated." James said as he smiled proudly at the now very red girl beside him.

"I'm so thankful to you, Merry. Jamie often needs all the help he can get." his mom smirked.

"It was nothing really."

"By the way, James, where's Lily? Your mum wants to see her around more often now that you two are dating." his dad winked.

"Hey, I'll see you at dinner. Ok, Prongs?"

"Yeah, see ya later, Pads." James called as he went off to find Lily. Inuai wandered around a bit more until she noticed two strange men talking to Dumbledore and McGonagall.

'They're the ones.'

'Huh?'

'They smell like youkais.'

'But what are they doing here?'

'I don't know, but Dumbledore's twinkling like mad.'

'Time to get out of here?'

'Definitely.'

The Marauders were laughing at something Sirius had done, but Inuai didn't notice it. She was too busy looking at the Head Table. The same two men were sitting up ther.

"Pads?"

"Huh?"

"Is something the matter?" Lily asked concerned.

"No. It's just that… never mind. It's crazy."

"Come on. Pads. You can tell us anything." Moony coaxed her.

"Okay, meet me in the _Room_ after dinner, and I'll explain everything." And with that Inuai got up and left the Great Hall.

"Hey, Padfoot. Do you know what's going on with Pads today?" Moony asked.

"No, why?"

"Well, she just seems really out of sorts today." Prongs supplied.

"Don't worry guys. She'll tell us when she's ready." Padfoot replied. Everyone looked at him in shock. "What?"

"Nothing." They said in unison.

Twenty minutes later, the four friends wandered into the secret room they had found to house all their secrets an to keep them safe until the heat cooled down after a prank. They walked into the room to find Inuai pacing quickly before the fireplace, talking rapidly with herself. "What do you think she's saying?" Prongs whispered.

"I'm trying to figure out how to tell you everything." Inuai said calmly as hse turned to face her friends.

"You have_ so_ got to tell me how you do that." Lily said as she and the others took seats around the fire.

"You'll find out everything shortly."  
"Hey, what's with the ceiling?" Moony asked. Everyone looked up and saw, not the normal ceiling, but the setting sum and the evening sky.

"I've got it charmed for a reason. It'll all be explained I promise." Inuai said nervously as she glanced towards the sun. "You guys remember Kettlebaum's lecture on hanyous and youkais back in fifth year?"

"Yeah. What about it?"

"Well, he was trying to get someone to pick up on the hint that one of the students was a hanyou." Inuai looked around at her closest friends before continuing. "Unfortunately, for him anyways, I'm the only one who caught that hint."  
"So… wait a tic." Prongs started out slowly. "We've been going to school with a half demon, and you never told us who he was?" Inuai shifted nervously before sitting down in the last empty chair.

"Ok, first off, the hanyou is a _she, _and _she _didn't want _her_ friends to abandon _her_ because of what _she_ really is!" she yelled as she stood to pace in front of the fire again.

"Sirius, aren't you going to help us out here?" Lily asked as she looked over at a very calm Sirius. "Wait! You know something!" Everyone turned to look at Sirius, including Inuai.

"Pads?" Sirius looked toward the fireplace where his best girl was standing. She slowly nodded to him before turning back to the fire. "Yeah, I've known who the hanyou is since our first night here." he replied to the unvoiced questions.

"You mean to tell us," Moony began, "that you've kept something from us all these years?"

"She swore me to secrecy, you idiot!" Sirius yelled at his friend as he pointed towards Inuai. "Shit!"

"It's okay, Siri." Inuai said as she turned to face her friends and shook her head to release the glamour charm. Everyone jumped out of their skin as the door came crashing down, and a man dressed in red came running into the room, brandishing a sword.

"Inuyasha, do you really think that was necessary?" came a cold voice from just outside the door.

"Who are you, and what the hell do you want?" Inuai demanded as she stepped protectively in front of her friends.

"Maybe you'd care to rephrase that last question, as we came for you." stated the stoic man who had just entered the room.

"Fine. What the hell do you want me for?"

"Use your nose young lady, and I think it'll become quite clear." Inuai quickly sniffed in the two men's direction as her eyes widened in shock.

"You're inus!" she exclaimed.

"Keh! Took you long enough." scoffed the man in red as he put away his sword.

"And to answer your other question, I am Sesshomaru, and this baka, is Inuyasha." Sesshomaru stated matter of factly.

"But that still doesn't answer what you want with her." Lily said timidly from behind her friend.

"That's easy." Inuyasha replied.

:How's that?"

"What was your mother's name?" Inuyasha smirked.

'_Smug little bastard, ain't he?'_

'_Shut up!_' "From what I was told, it was Izayoi." Inuai said wonder where this was going. All the while trying not to throttle the guy for wearing her clothes.

"That was my mother's name, too." he said softly. "You're my twin, Inuai."

"Wait! How do you know my name? I never told you that!" Inuai demanded.

"It's like he said," Sesshomaru replied. "You are his twin, and my half sister."

'_Oh, hell no!' _

'_Shut up!'_

"Inuai?" Lily asked timidly. "Are you ok?" Inuai slowly turned to her friends.

"Yeah, I think so." Inuai intoned. "Hey, Sesshomaru!" The tai youkai quirked an eybrow at not being addressed properly, but nodded for her to continue. "You're full youkai, right?"

"Yes," he replied somewhat reluctantly. He did not like the lok she was giving him.

"So… you've got a true form." I was more a statement then a question, but Sesshomaru nodded in the affirmative anyways. "Can I see it?" Sesshomaru looked at the girl before him, deciding that she was probably as stubborn as Inuyasha and wouldn't back down til he gave in.

"Fine," he sighed, "but this is the only time."

The group quickly bounded from the room, down to the pitch after being told that the room would be much too small. Inuai quickly fixed the door before catching up to the others. "What have you got planned?" Sirius asked slyly as they wandered towards the pitch.

"You'll see." was all she said before scurrying off ahead of the group. Sesshomaru stood quietly in the middle of the pitch until everyone had found a seat in the stands. In a flash of light, Sesshomaru was gone, only to be replaced by a large white dog.

"Yeah! That's my big brother!" Inuai crowed form the stands. By that time, Sesshomaru had changed back and joined them in the stands.

"So, you admit now that we are telling the truth?" he asked.

"Of course. Why wouldn't I?" Inuai smiled mischievously. And with a small pop, she was gone.

"What the hell?"

"Inuyasha?" Sirius said as he gestured to the seat. Inuyasha looked down to see a small black dog sitting beside him before noticing that the sun had gone down, and he was human once again. Another pop was heard, and everyone gasped as a, now human, Inuai sat before them.

"Umm… Pads?" came Moony's voice. "I thought your animagus form was white?"

"Well, normally, it is. But on the night of the new moon, it becomes black to match my human form." she explained.

"So, that's why you looked this way at the Yule Ball!" Lily exclaimed. "But you said it was a glamour charm!"  
"Well, it was until the sun went down."

"Oh."

"Inuai?" Inuyasha said softly. Inuai turned to see violet eyes looking back at her. The same violet eyes that she had.

"Yeah?"

"I know that Sesshomaru and I are a lot to handle right now, but would you like to go back to Japan and meet the rest of your family?"

Inuai looked around at all her friends. They all knew what they wanted to do with their lives. James and Lily were going to become Aurors along with Sirius and Remus. All four were already tapped to become members of the Order of the Phoenix as well. But where did that leave her? She looked back at Inuyasha and saw the hope shining in his eyes. "Alright, but I'd better not be mistaken for you again." she laughed as Inuyasha looked thoroughly confused.

* * *

"Inuyasha! Get down from there!" Kagome yelled at her mate. "Everyone will be here soon!"

"Keh!"

"SIT!'

WHAM!

"Wench! What'd you do that for!" Inuyasha bellowed coming face to face with the petite woman as the spell wore off.

"Inuyasha! Sesshomaru!" Both men looked over to see three men and a woman coming towards their little group.

"Hey guys!" Inuyasha called as he waved the four friends over.

"So where's Inuai at?" Sirius asked looking around excitedly. Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light. And there in the middle of Stonehenge stood tow figures bathed in an ethereal light. "Inuai!" Sirius called to his friend. It had been three years since he had last seen her, and she looked lovely. Her hair was no longer pinned up in a bun on her head, but hung loosely down her back. She wore a dress made of the finest material that anyone had ever seen, that flowed about her as if it were the air around her.

Beside her, stood a man whose very posture bespoke of a grace and wisdom beyond his years. He was dressed simply in green leggings and a tunic, but all those waiting at the ruins knew of his heritage.

"Siri! Lily! James! Remus!" Inuai cried racing to embrace her friends. "I'm so glad you came!"

"How could we not come?" Lily asked. "Besides, you need to see your godson. He doesn't stop crying until he can see your picture." James snickered beside his wife.

"You brought Harry?" she asked incredulously. Lily simply moved aside her cloak to reveal a peacefully sleeping three month old.

"So, Inuai," Inuyasha called crossing over to where his sister stood holding her godson. "Is this the guy you were talking about?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah." Inuai said sheepishly. She gestured to the young man who came to stand by her side. "Everybody, this is my soon-to-be mate, Legolas Greenleaf." she smiled brightly as she said this. Inuyasha looked between the two and knew there was no argument. This young man _was_ her mate. "Legolas, this is my older _half_ brother, Sesshomaru and his lovely mate, Kagura. My baka twin, Inuyasha and his amazing mate, Kagome." she gestured to the two men of demon heritage. "And these guys over here," she said turning to her marauding friends with a mischievous glint in her eyes, "are the best friends a girl could ever ask for. Remus 'Moony' Lupin, Sirius 'Padfoot' Black, James 'Prongs' Potter, and his beautiful wife, Lily. And this little guy, " she cooed as she readjusted the baby in her arms, "is my darling godson, Harry James Potter."

Legolas looked around at the group as if he were memorizing their faces. "It is a pleasure to meet you all. Inuai has told me so much ."

"So, are we ready to go?" Inuai asked, reluctantly giving Harry back to his mom.

"Not yet," Sesshomaru said, an edge of anger in his voice. "That runt of a fox isn't here."

"Well, he needs to hurry as we don't have much time." Legolas said as the men moved into a little group apart from the women, who seemed to be talking about babies. It wasn't long before Inuai came over to join the group and wrapped her arms around her mate's waist.

"Legolas," she said innocently, "I want to have a baby."

"And you will, my love." Legolas said softly.

"When?"

Legolas looked thoughtful for a moment. "When the time is right, you can have a baby. Although, any of the young ladies in the kingdom would give you one of their children, just to make you happy." Inuyasha and the others tried to suppress their laughter at the look of indignation on Inuai's face.

"Hey, wait for us you guys!" came a cry from just over the rise. Momentarily, a shock of red hair came bounding over the rise, followed closely by a teenage boy and a girl of about nine or ten.

"Shippo!" Inuai yelled as she raced to meet her friend. "Oh my god! You have grown so much!" she exclaimed as she hugged the kitsune to her. "And who are these two?"

"Darling, we need to go now." Legolas said laying a gentle hand on her arm. She looked into his eyes before nodding.

"You're right. Come on, everyone! It's time to go!" she called as Legolas lead her to the ruins they had come from twenty minutes prior.

Once everyone had gathered around the couple, the light came again and transported them to the place that would become Inuai's home, Mirkwood.

"Oh, wow." Kagome breathed. "It is so beautiful here."

Inuai just smiled as she and Legolas lead them to their future home. The group walked silently through the trees wondering where all the houses and people were until Sirius looked up.

"Oh, my."

"What is it, Padfoot?" Moony asked quietly, afraid to break the silence that surrounded them like a blanket. All Sirius could do was point up into the trees. The group gasped as one as they beheld the elves looking at them curiously. Neither race had seen the other in many, many years, and both thought the other had died out.

"Come on guys. Just a little bit further." came Inuai's voice. They quickly hurried to catch up to her when suddenly she stopped. "I'm sorry to those of you who don't like heights, but the trees are much safer in this realm than the ground." she explained softly. Each person was lead to a different tree, the couples staying together.

"I hope you have an enjoyable time. Please get some rest as tomorrow is the ceremony." Legolas said to the friends before he and Inuai said their good nights and left to their own trees.

* * *

_Well, there you go. Another chapter in the bag. I'm not going to make any promises on when the next one will be out, as I am always at work (or so it seems). Newayz... I hope you guys like this one. Just hit the little button at the bottom and let me know. _

**Blanket disclaimer for A Hanyou's Life:**

_I do not own anything from the universes of Harry Potter, Inuyasha, Lord of the Rings, Full Metal Alchemist, or Pirates of the Caribbean. The only people I own are Inuai and all her alises and Kermit, when he decides to show up again._


	7. Memoirs of A Marauder Sort Of

_Well, guys I am soooo sorry about the long wait, but here it is! Chapter seven! Thanks so much for your patience while I dealt with that dang writer's block. I hope to have the next chapter out sometime this week or next. And yes I am speaking the truth about that. It's about half way done, just needs a little more angst._

_Okay, now before I get too windy, Enjoy!_

**Chapter 7**

"What a beautiful ceremony." Lily said wistfully as she walked with her husband, James, through the elven village.

"Is that all you women ever think about?" James asked incredulously.

"What are you going on about now?"

"All women ever think about is how beautiful the ceremony is and what everyone is wearing. You never focus on the important stuff."

"And just what do you consider the 'important stuff'?" Lily asked as she eyed her husband warily.

"Oh, come on, Lil." James replied. "The most important part of any ceremony is the reception." He said it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Think about it," he said, blatantly ignoring the death glare Lily was sending him. "the dancing, the drinking, the merry making, the drinking, meeting new people… Did I mention the drinking?"

'Lordy, he looks like Dumbledore with all that damn twinkling.' "Yeah and if I remember correctly, I was the one who had to levitate your drunk ass back to the tree house!" Lily snapped, all the while trying to hide her smirk. She just wouldn't tell James that his bumps and bruises were from her deliberately running him into trees on the way from the party, not the 'fight' she told him that he got into.

_Flashback_

It was true that the ceremony had been beautiful. It was a small affair considering it was one of the royal family. The ceremony was held in a small clearing set in the middle of the forest.

Lily and James sat along with Sirius and Remus on the left side of the clearing. Lily was playing with little Harry, trying to keep the infant entertained during the ceremony. In front of the Marauders, sat Kagome and Kagura, who were busy watching Shippo and the two children, Charlie and Pippin, they had brought with them. Inuyasha and Sesshomaru were currently standing in front of the motley group beside a vine and flower covered stone altar. Lily looked curiously around at the rest of the guests.

To the right side, sat four people who could easily pass for children and a short man with a rather large beard with an equally large axe leaning against his shoulder. Behind them sat a human man wearing regal clothes and a crown, with a young lady wearing equally regal dress and a similar, yet feminine, crown. Next to them sat another human couple.

Lily did a double take as she noticed Dumbledore and another man, who could easily be his twin, standing at the back. "When did Dumbledore get here?" Lily asked as she leaned over toward James. He merely shrugged his shoulders in response and proceeded to turn around and wave at the old man.

A few minutes later, those gathered in the clearing quieted as Legolas and his parents walked up to stand opposite Inuyasha and Sesshomaru next to the altar. Many of the humans looked about as several elves started singing from their places in the trees surrounding the clearing. A little bit of rustling was heard from behind, and several women gasped as the beheld Inuai, who calmly walked up to the altar, her head bowed in reverence and a soft smile upon her face.

As she joined Legolas in front of the altar, Inuai lifted her head and looked at her mate's warm, loving smile that seemed to light up his whole face.

All those from the Earthen realm where surprised to find that mo priest was needed for the simple ceremony. The assembled guests watched in awe as Legolas and Inuai started to glow in an ethereal light. They held each other's hands as Legolas began to speak in his native tongue, which sounded very odd to the humans.

"_Etamluos ym sa uoy mialc i. Uoy ot gnoleb i. Uoy rof efil ym reffo i. Noitcetorp ym uoy evig i. Ecnaigella ym uoy evig i. Traeh ym uoy evig i. Luos ym evig i. Udob ym uoy evig I. Sruoy si taht emas eht gnipeek otni ekat i. Emit ym lla rof em yb dehsirehc eb lliw efil ruoy. Emit lla rof nwo ym evoba decalp eb lliw efil ruoy. Eatmluos ym era uoy. Ytinrete lla rof em ot dnuob era uoy. Erac ym ni syawla era uoy." _As the words rolled off his tongue, the glow around Legolas became brighter.

Inuai took a calming breath and started to repeat the ritual words to Legolas as the glowing became brighter around her as well. She finished the words in a whisper and looked into her mate's eyes. They slowly leaned towards one another and as their lips met, the aura that surrounded them shot up into the air, twisting as it rose before coming back down to the couple as their kiss broke.

The reception for the couple could only be described as a full blown party. Every elf in the kingdom had shown up.

"Inuai!" Lily called as she and the Marauders descended upon the newly joined couple. "That was the coolest thing I have ever seen!"

"I'm glad you enjoyed the ceremony. James, Siri, Remus… The bar is that way." she laughed as the boys ran off like they were going to Zonko's. "Come on, Lily. I'll introduce you to everyone from the ceremony."

"Legolas!" came the loud call from the dwarf across the glade.

"That would be Gimili." Inuai said to a confused Lily. "Looks like he wants a rematch to their drinking contest." Kagome and Kagura came to stand with Inuai and Lily as Sesshomaru and Inuyasha wandered over to join in on the contest.

"Oh no." Lily moaned. Inuai looked at her friend and noticed the source of her torment. James and Sirius had decided to partake in the drinking fun. Luckily, Remus still had enough sense to keep out of any contest with an elf, a dwarf, and two demons.

"Alright ladies," Inuai said to her friends. "Who'd like to make some predictions on this?"

"Hmmm. Well, it's pretty obvious that the two humans are going down first as they've already had a fair amount to drink." Kagura observed.

"Definitely." the others agreed.

"So, James and Siri are going down first, who's next?"  
"Well, I think you should tell us who's going to be the winner, since your new hubby kind of brought this little contest on." Kagura shot at her sister in law. Inuai glared back playfully.

"Fine, have it your way." she grinned mischievously. "Of course, James and Sirius are out of it first. Oh, and Lily, don't forget to use the trees against them on the way home tonight. As I was saying," Inuai continued once the girls' laughter had died down. "after James and siri, it'll probably be Inuyasha. I mean, he is half human and elven liquor is quite a bit stronger than anything humans or demons can come up with. After that, it'll be Gimili. He's a strong fighter, but the drink will get the better of him." she said smugly.

"Ok, that leaves Sesshomaru and Legolas…. So, who's going to win?" Lily asked curiously.

"Hmmm…. That's a little bit harder." Inuai replied seriously. " But if I have to chose, I'd say Legolas, but I'm biased." All four girls burst out laughing at that last comment. But they had to agree with her. While Sesshomaru was a full fledged demon, he was not familiar with elven drinks. Legolas, on the other hand, had imbibed them for awhile and grown accustomed to their effects on the body. The girls watched in amusement as, after two drinks, James and Sirius withdrew from the contest by effectively passing out. Lily merely groaned thinking about how humiliating it would be to levitate the two home. _At least there are perks._ she thought to herself as she let out an evil laugh causing the girls to burst out into another fit of giggles.

Nearly twenty minutes, and several drinks later, Kagome let out a groan as Inuyasha slumped to the ground, hitting the table on the way down. "Three down and three to go." Inuai stated. "You know, maybe we should've taken bets on this." Kagome, Kagura, and Lily looked at her incredulously. "What!"

"Well, it's just that you'd be winning right now." Kagome pointed out with a smile on her face.

"Yeah, well." Inuai blossomed to a red that would have rivaled a Weasley. "Back to the contest!"

An hour later, the women were surprised to find Gimili, Sesshomaru, and Legolas still standing, although Gimili looked worse for wear. He was constantly swaying and hanging onto the edge of the table as if his very life depended on it. "I give him two more drinks before he's out of this little thing." Kagura commented.

"I think I'm starting to feel something….in my stomach?" Sesshomaru said, slurring a bit, two drinks later.

"Ha! I knew you demons couldn't hold yer liquor!" Gimili crowed triumphantly before promptly passing out. A second later, a very loud burp issued from Sesshomaru, who had the grace to look as stoic as ever. As he picked up his next glass, Sesshomaru looked over at his fallen companions. Gimili, _Man, can that dwarf hold his liquor. _James and Sirius, Sesshomaru let out a derisive snort. _Pathetic humans._ And last, _and certainly least,_ thought Sesshomaru, Inuyasha. He smirked as he watched the younger half demon lying on the ground, holding his ear and very contentedly, it seemed, sucking on his thumb. He wondered vaguely how Kagome put up with such a simpleton. Sesshomaru downed his drink and looked down at his brother again. "Ah, the Tetsusaiga." he said as he glanced covetously at the fang on Inuyasha's hip. "It shall be mine at last." He slowly reached for the sword, not hearing the warnings being called by Kagome and Inuai. As his hand got within a foot of Inuyasha, the sword's barrier reacted to the opposing threat to the sleeping hanyou, throwing the tai youkai twenty feet, where he slumped to the ground at the foot of a tree that would hold the imprint of his backside for all eternity.

"That idiot!" Kagura growled. "I thought, after all these centuries, he'd be over this petty _thing_ with that sword!" the other three girls backed up impulsively as Kagura's hands went to the fans in her obi.

"Now, Kagura, don't you think that's a little excessive?" Inuai said, trying to reason with the very pissed off wind demon. Kagura looked at the shocked faces around her before returning her fans to their rightful place.

"Inuai?"

"Yes?" Inuai said carefully as she noticed the feral grin on her sister in law's face.

"Would you be a dear and levitate that lug home for me? And make sure you hit ever single tree you come across." she said, turning to face Inuai.

"You know…." Lily spoke up after finding her voice. "If you put an evil laugh behind that, you would be like, the best villain ever!"

"Well, I didn't spend all that time with Naraku for nothing." Kagura smirked before letting out the evilest laugh to be heard that evening.

_**Banket disclaimer for A Hanyou's Life:** _

_I don't own anything you recognize. The only people I own is Inuai and her many aliases, Kermit, and soon to beheard from..Mist. Hopefully, you all will meet him next chapter. _

_Please let me know what you guys think so far. I always enjoy feed back, even if it's not good. So let me know! _


	8. Death and Destrution

1

**Chapter 8**

Remus sniffed as he let a few tears fall unchecked down his face. They were gone, and he wasn't there to save them. He should've been there. But no, he couldn't be there because of that bloody moon. He was so busy beating himself up over something he couldn't control, that he didn't notice the young couple in cloaks. Remus jerked as a gentle hand was laid on his arm. "Relax, Moony. It's just me." said a familiar voice.

"Hey, Pads. It's good to hear your voice again." he said as he placed his hand over hers.

The three friends stood silently in front of the freshly dug graves as the other mourners said their good byes and left.

"How did this happen?"

"Voldemort."

"And Siri?"

"Azkaban."

"Why?" Inuai asked, turning to face her friend. Tears were running down her face, and her eyes were puffy as if she had been crying for days.

"Maybe we should talk about this someplace else." Remus said comfortingly.

"You're right." Inuai sighed. "Just give me a moment to say good bye?"

Inuai quietly made her way over to the headstones that bore tow very familiar names. As she read them, Inuai slowly slipped to her knees. "Hey, you two." she whispered. "I promised I'd come back if there was any trouble, but I guess I didn't come soon enough." Tears started to leak down Inuai's face. "But I swear to you both," she said, her face hardening with resolve. "I will keep Harry safe, no matter what."

She looked back at the hooded figure standing next to one of her dearest friends. As if on some unspoken cue, the figure walked over and helped Inuai up, making sure their hoods kept their faces in shadow.

Remus watched silently as the young woman he loved as a sister, said her final good byes to the first family she had. He knew they would need someplace safe to talk before she could let her guard down. Just like him, Inuai was looked down upon by the majority of the wizarding world just for being who she was. Anything seen as _dark_ by high ranking officials, most of whom were bought and paid for by pureblood families, were persecuted to the highest extent of the law. And even though Voldemort was gone, demons were still considered the darkest and most foul creatures around, and if captured, were sent to Azkaban to be Kissed.

A small grey, cat sitting on a nearby fence, watched to exchange between the three companions before they apparated away. _I think Albus will want to be told about the visitors he'll be receiving._ And with that, the cat jumped off it's perch and scurried off into the bushes, where it disappeared.

Inuai looked around to familiar shack that stood isolated on the outskirts of the village. "This seems a bit familiar." Inuai said sarcastically, lowering her hood as the foundation groaned under the weight of the constantly shifting building.

"Brings back a lot of good memories." Remus replied, his voice trembling a bit. "Here, let me start a fire so we don't freeze to death." He went v_e_ry pale as he said the last word and looked over at Inuai, afraid that she might break down at any moment. The hanyou looked over at her friend with a reassuring smile, as if to say 'I've made my peace. Make all the bad jokes you want.'

Inuai, Legolas, and Remus sat around the fire, silently going over the events of the day. Finally, the stillness got to be too much for Inuai. "Remus," she said, breaking the silence.

Remus looked up a bit startled as if he forgot that there were others with him.

"Tell me what happened." Inuai said in a surprisingly calm voice. "All of it and don't you dare sugar coat it."

"Alright, but don't blame me if your butt goes numb." Remus replied with the first real smile he'd had in about a week. "Where would you like me to start?"

"Let's start with what happened to my godson." Inuai said, her voice taking on an icy edge.

Remus unconsciously moved away from the half demon. He knew, first hand, what a pissed off hanyou was capable of, and he didn't want to experience it again. Luckily for him, Legolas reached over to entwine their fingers together, providing the calming influence his mate needed. And forestalling the rage that was boiling right beneath the surface. _She is so not going to like this. _Remus thought, inching a little further away. _Maybe I should warn Dumbledore. _"Dumbledore sent him to ..."

"What did you say?"

"Dumbledore sent him to the Dursleys."

"Why would he do such a stupid fucking thing like that?" Inuai cried, jumping to her feet.

"Something about protection from the blood wards and wanting him to grow up away from the wizarding world. It sounded a bit fishy to me." Remus replied, albeit a little afraid.

Inuai continued to pace about the room, ignoring the constant shifting of the walls. "Does he even know what they're like?" she mumbled to herself. "They're horrible, Moony! They're going to treat him like shit!"

"You don't know that, Pads."

"Yes, I do! I stayed with Lily over summer holiday ever fucking year! Petunia hated Lily! She never called her anything but a freak! She'll treat Harry the way she's always wanted to treat Lily! And do you know why, Remus? Because he can't fight back! He's a fucking year old!" Inuai was practically screaming by now, and unfortunately for Remus and Legolas, she wasn't going to calm down anytime soon.

She rounded on the two men suddenly, startling the werewolf as he was absorbed in his own bleak thoughts. "Have you been to see him?" she asked, not needing to clarify.

"No," Remus said dejectedly. "Petunia knows who I am. As soon as she sees me, she calls the police."

"Right. Now tell me about Siri." Her tone of voice left no room for argument, and Remus knew it.

"Sirius is currently sitting in Azkaban. He went crazy when he found out about James and Lily. He confronted Peter in a crowded market in Muggle London. Over a hundred muggles saw him take down Peter." Remus explained.

_I knew that dirty rat was no good._

"Do you think he would actually do something like that?"

"I don't know, Pads."

"What do you mean, you don't know? This is Sirius we're talking about!" Inuai snapped at the werewolf.

"You didn't see him the night we found out! He was mad with grief, Inuai. He said he was going to kill Peter." Remus snapped back with a growl.

"But do you honestly believe that Sirius would kill someone like that? There was a huge blast! Besides, Siri wouldn't do anything that drastic in front of that many muggles." Inuai replied, biting back her own growl. "I can't stick around here any more."

"Where are you going to go, Inuai?"Remus asked. "You know you're being hunted by every witch and wizard in Britain. There's no place where you'll be safe."

"Don't tell me what I already know, Remus! There's always one place I can be completely safe." Inuai said looking fondly at her mate. "Besides, I want to see my godson." At this, Legolas got up to join his mate, knowing full well that Inuai did not intend to stay there any longer than she had to.

"Inuai, wait." Remus pleaded. Inuai turned around to face her friend. "Be careful."

"Don't worry, Moony. I always am." she smirked.

Petunia hurried through her immaculate house to see who could possibly be knocking on her door so close to dinner time. She opened her door to find a young couple standing on the stoop, looking like they had an appointment. "Can I help you?" she asked looking them over with a critical eye.

"I'm sorry to intrude on you like this, but we just heard about you sister and wanted to offer our condolences." the young woman stated plainly. She looked to be in her early twenties, around the same age as Lily, with shoulder length brown hair and brown eyes. The young man with her stood silently at her side, his hair was short and curly and the same color as the woman's.

"Yes, well. Thank you, but I must be going. I have a baby to feed." Petunia said primly as she moved to close the door.

"Oh, you're taking care of your nephew?" the young woman cried, stepping swiftly into the house. Petunia looked shocked at this girl's manners before regaining her composure.

"I'm sorry," she said as sweetly as she could. "But I didn't catch your names."

"Pardon me for my rudeness! I'm Elizabeth, and this is my husband, Orlando. We, well, more like, I, was friends with your sister, Lily."

"You aren't one of _those_, are you?" Petunia asked a bit fearfully.

"You mean those people waving sticks about? Oh, heaven's no!" Elizabeth replied, after covering a short cough, which, Petunia thought, sounded suspiciously like a laugh.

"Well, Elizabeth and Orlando, it was lovely meeting you, but as you can plainly hear, I have a very hungry _son_ to take care of." she said, gesturing towards the upstairs. Elizabeth tried not to wince as the screams got louder, but they weren't coming from upstairs. _They seem to be coming from... beneath the stairs. Oh, no._ She thought to herself as she looked up at her husband with worry clearly written in her eyes. As their eyes met, Elizabeth knew he had caught the same thing.

"Excuse me," Elizabeth said timidly, "but would you mind if we helped? Usually when one child's hungry, the other one is too."

"How did you know that?" Petunia asked suddenly. "I mean, how did you know I was taking care of _two_ babies?"

"Well, Mrs. Dursley," Orlando spoke up, " there are quite a few toys on the floor, and they can't all belong to one child."

Petunia bristled at the thought of that_ freak ever_ playing with her little Duddy's toys, but quickly pasted on a fake smile. "Of course, you're welcome to help. Why don't I show you two to the living room, and then I can get the boys." she said as sweetly as possible.

As soon as Petunia was out of earshot, Elizabeth turned to her husband. "What are we going to do, Legolas? We can't leave him here."

"Don't be too hasty, Inuai. We don't know the extent of his treatment here." Legolas quickly reassured his mate before Petunia came bustling back into the room with the two boys nestled vicariously in her arms. The bigger of the two was flailing his arms about, hitting the smaller child as if it couldn't stand to be close to him.

"Here." Petunia spat out as she shoved the smaller child into Inuai's arms.

_Oh, god, Harry._ She thought as the smell of blood assaulted her nose. She looked down at her godson and noticed a small trickle of red running down his face from an angry red scar on his forehead. "Excuse me, Petunia. But do you have a damp washcloth? There's a little blood coming from this scar." Inuai asked sweetly.

"Don't worry, Harry." she whispered as she cleaned his face. "I'll get you out of here."

"Ah, Mrs. Greenleaf. How nice to see you again."

"Cut the formal crap, Dumbledore." Inuai snarled. "Why was he left with _them_?"

"It's where he will be safest. The blood wards will ensure that." Dumbledore said softly, trying to calm the enraged hanyou before him. Albus looked toward the elf standing in the doorway, silently pleading with his eyes, asking the man to help calm his mate. Legolas locked eyes with the old man for a couple seconds before turning and walking out of the office. _Well, looks like I'm on my own._ He thought bleakly to himself. "Inuai... please have a seat."

Inuai looked quickly at the headmaster. He had sounded so weary, and in that moment, he looked every one of his years. She could tell that Albus had taken James and Lily's deaths very hard and felt slightly guilty for Harry.

"Albus," Inuai's voice broke through the silence that permeated the office. "Why don't I take Harry back with me? He'll be safe there. Safer than he'll be with those muggles."

"I'm sorry, Inuai." he said looking at the young woman sitting across from him, the twinkle no longer evident in his gaze. "But it would be better for him to remain _here_ in this realm."

"Fine, have it your way." Inuai said as she stood to leave, anger tinging her voice. "But just a warning, old man. Don't _ever_ piss of a female hanyou.

IRON REAVER, SOUL STEALER!"

Albus sat shocked as he looked around his office. With one single attack, Inuai had practically destroyed his whole office. Most of the former headmasters and mistress' were yelling about their portraits being torn to bits, and the instruments around the room were now just tiny bits of metal and glass. But the thing that astonished the 'unshakable' headmaster the most, was the gargoyle that had once guarded his door, was now no more than a pile of dust.


	9. Going Back

_Hey guys. So sorry for the long time between the updates. Life's been pretty up in the air and hectic. Between quitting one job and trying to find another, getting engaged, and being pregnant, it hasn't been exactly easy to get this chapter written as there was alot that needed to go into it. But enough of my excuses, on to the story!_

Chapter 9

'_Damn! Where is that pitiful excuse for a human?' _A seemingly young man stood in the middle

of the Albanian forest waiting for the person who could possibly help him in his task. '_It's a _

_shame he's not in a corporeal form, or I could kill him for his lateness!' _he growled, causing

birds to scatter from the area. A snake came slithering into the area and came to a stop in front of

the _man_.He glared down at the snake, thinking of killing it before he realized that this was who

he was here to meet.

"Pathetic." he growled out. He walked over to the tree line where another man stood trembling

with fear. "Possess this simpering fool as I will not lower myself so much to talk to a snake." he

said as he shoved the man to the ground.

After a few minutes, the man got back up. "What do you want from me?" asked a high pitched

voice that did not come either of the two men.

"The same thing I wanted from you last time, Riddle!" the silver haired man shouted.

"Do Not call me by that name!" the voice screeched. Within seconds, the first man had 'Riddle'

up against a tree, his icy blue eyes shooting daggers into the trembling man he held by the throat.

"I will call you whatever the_ hell_ I like because I _own_ you!" The man's eyes flashed dangerously

red for a minute before he regained control of his temper. He released the man before walking to

the edge of the clearing and adjusting his suit. "Now, get back to England and do the job I'm

paying you for." he said as he walked into the trees and disappeared.

* * *

"So, how're you liking that new arm, Fluffy?" 

The tai-youkai growled at his younger sibling. "Why must you always use that infernal name?"

"Because it irritates you so." Inuai grinned up at Sesshomaru. "But that still doesn't answer my

question. How's the new arm working for you?"

"It is working just fine, Inuai. Thank you." he said softly. Inuai had to admit, Sesshomaru had

changed quite a bit since she had 'rejoined' the family. He was no longer as cold as he was when

she had first met him. Before, he never would have let anyone help him, especially not a mortal.

But with Inuai's insistence, he had gone with her to Germany and had Winry Rockbell-Elric craft

him a custom arm, which, with a little help from Inuai and her magic, would easily transform

with him.

"So... are you ready to go back to visit your mother?" he asked as they reached the bottom of a

long flight of stairs. Inuai knew where those stairs led to. They went to the Higurashi shrine. The

same shrine that Kagome had frown up in and that housed the well.

Sesshomaru placed a comforting hand on Inuai's shoulder. She looked up to see the concern

written plainly on his face. "I don't really have a choice, do I?" Inuai asked wryly. "I mean,

they're all up there waiting for me."

"That they are. But you were the one who decided to go today." Sesshomaru smirked. "You're

not thinking about backing out now, are you?"

"No!" Inuai replied indignantly. And with a pop, she left Sesshomaru laughing on the street as a

little white dog ran up the stairs to the shrine.

"Ummm... A little help here? Inuyasha!!"

"Whaddya want wench?" Inuyasha looked down to see his currently fuming mate at the bottom

of the well. The half demon simply smirked at her before jumping down and helping Kagome out

of the well. "Come on, you guys, we've got a lot of ground to cover."

The group slowly made their way to the village, enjoying the beautiful scenery of Feudal Era

Japan. Presently, Inuyasha and Kagome came to stand at the base of the Goshinboku. They both

looked up into the branches of the tree reminiscing, as Kagome reached up to run her hand

reverently over a hole in the bark before reaching up to tweak Inuyasha's ears.

"Ahem. If you two lovebirds are about done, we need to get moving. It's getting dark, and we are

expected in the village soon." Sesshomaru remarked, smirking slightly as the pair in question

turned red before scurrying off toward the village, leaving the rest of the group laughing in their

wake.

"Inuyasha! Kagome!"

"Sango!" Kagome called out as she ran to meet her friend. "It's been so long!"

"Yes, too long." replied a rich tenor voice. Kagome and Sango both turned toward the voice, only

to come face to face with a monk holding a very squirmy little girl.

"Miroku!"

"Who'd you steal the kid from, monk?" Inuyasha asked, grinning ruefully.

"Well, Inuyasha... if you and Kagome would come back more often," Miroku stated, causing

them both to blush in embarrassment. "You would know that this little bundle joy is our darling

daughter."

"Oh my Kami! Sango! She's adorable!" Kagome squealed causing all the demons present to

wince. "What's her name?"

"It's Suki." Sango replied. "So, Kagome, whose your friend back there?"

Kagome looked behind her to see a certain silver head and dog ears hiding behind Sesshomaru. "Uh, Inuai?"

"Y-yeah?" squeaked Inuai as she peeked out from her hiding spot.

"Are you okay?"

"Really, REALLY big boomerang." she quickly stuttered before letting out a terrified squeak and

ducking back into her hiding spot as Sango readjusted her weapon.

"Why are you afraid of Hiraikotsu?" Kagome asked her trembling sister-in-law. She had never

seen Inuai act like this and, truth be told, it was unnerving everyone in the group.

"You know," Inuai perked up, "I seem to remember someone yelling that before _that thing_ came

hurtling at my head!" she yelled causing the demons present to flinch.

"Excuse me? The only _friends_ I throw this at are Miroku and Inuyasha. Granted, you look a lot

alike..." Sango started.

"Say, why do you two look so much alike?" Miroku asked, finally joining the conversation.

"Why don't we go inside, away from prying eyes and ears." Kagura replied before anyone else

could.

Once the small group had settled into Sango and Miroku's hut, and Suki was fed and put down

for the night, they sat around the fire enjoying the warmth and each other's company. It had been

almost two years since they had all been together like this. Sango mused silently to herself.

"So..." Miroku started, startling most of the room out of their thoughts. "Are you going to

introduce us to this amazingly beautiful young woman you've brought with you?"

"Watch it, bub." Inuyasha growled at the monk. "That's my sister you're talking about!"

"Wait! Your _sister_??" Sango asked, shocked at this revelation.

"Well, yeah. She's my _twin_ to be more specific." Inuyasha stated as if it was everyday fact.

"You might want to explain that a little better, baka." Sesshomaru said reasonably, catching the

confused looks on the monk and demon slayer's faces.

"Feh!"

"Let me." came a female voice from the shadows. Everyone turned to see two very familiar

amber eyes glowing softly in the corner.

* * *

"You've failed me _again_, Riddle!" the silver haired man snarled at the somewhat humanoid _thing_ before him. "How hard is it to kill a fucking child!" 

"Do _not_ call it _my _failure!" Riddle nearly hissed. "It is Lucius who has failed you."

"But that is where you are wrong. It may have been Lucius who failed to kill the boy, but since he works for _you_, it is _your _failure!" he snarled, causing his eyes to flash red.

"You _must_ tell me how you do that." hissed Riddle. "It would help me to instill fear in the hearts of those pathetic Muggles."

"Fool, only demons, like myself, can do that!" the demon nearly laughed. "And it's when we can no longer control our anger. Now, here is the item I promised you. Though you _don't_ deserve it."

"Excellent! Now I shall be returned to my former glory!"

"I hardly doubt that." mumbled the demon. Riddle, however, didn't notice or simply did not care. "Now, go find this Wormtail you keep blathering on about, so you can finally kill that _boy_." The demon started to walk out, but was stopped once again by Riddle.

"Wait."

"What could you possibly want now, Riddle?" the demon questioned exasperatedly.

"You've never told me your name. I would like to know the name of the one who is suppling the way for me to regain my body." Riddle replied. The demon turned to fully face Riddle. The look on his face clearly showing the debate on whether to indulge the human or to leave him in the dark.

"If you must call me _something_, then call me Andrew."

"Is that your real name?" Riddle hissed, smirking.

"No, but you would have too much trouble pronouncing my real name." And with that being said, Andrew walked out leaving Riddle alone to his thoughts and kicking the large snake just outside the door.

* * *

"Wow." That was all that escaped past Inuai's lips as she looked at the massive crater. "So, this is the place?" 

"Yeah, this is where Naraku met his end." Inuyasha said, pride evident in his voice.

"Well... I guess I'm proud of you, big brother." Inuai said plainly. She quickly glanced back behind her and scanned the trees. _That's odd. I could've sworn I heard an owl._

"Come on, let's get out of here before the baka gets a bigger head than he already has." Sesshomaru chuckled as he deftly side-stepped Inuyasha's swing.

"So, where to now, _bigger _brother?" Inuai asked sweetly as she skipped around the tai-youkai. Sesshomaru simply sighed and continued to walk, trying to banish the image of a little girl with dark hair and brown eyes._ Rin._ Kagura reached over and took her mate's hand, knowing where his thoughts had turned.

Rin had followed Sesshomaru faithfully since the day he had brought her back with Tensuiga. Sesshomaru had come to look at the girl with affection. He know she would not live as long as he and Jaken, but hoped to, one day, see her find a mate for herself and start a family. But unfortunately, it was not to be.

Flashback

"Stay here, Rin." Sesshomaru told the young girl. She was almost to the age when she would be left in a village to forge her own life.

"Yes, Sesshomaru-sama." she replied with complete trust that he would come back for her.

"Guard her with your life, Jaken." he ordered the toad demon as he left the trees, walking toward the battle raging in the clearing.

"Oi! Bastard! What took you so long?" Inuyasha called as he let loose the Wind Scar toward Naraku.

"Better late than never." the tai-youkai smirked, sending an attack from Tokijin.

Across the clearing, stood two mikos trying to simultaneously bring down the demon's barrier and dispel the deadly miasma with their sacred arrows.

"Concentrate, damn it!"

"Shut it, Kikyo!" Kagome spat. She was getting seriously tired of the undead bitch. If they didn't need Kikyo's spiritual powers along with her own, Kagome would have purified her ass by now.

"Listen, you little imposter..."

"No, you listen, Kikyo!" Kagome yelled at the miko. "I'm tired of all the _shit_ you've put Inuyasha and I through! You still think after all this time, that he's going to go to hell with you when this is all over! But I've got news for you. He's chosen to _live_ with _me_! He doesn't want you or your slutty ways! So leave him the hell alone, bitch!"

All Kikyo could do was stand and stare as, all throughout Kagome's tirade, her spiritual powers had grown so much that they now rivaled those of Midoriko.

"What the hell are you doing?" Kagome screamed. "Quit staring at me and start firing!"

"There is no longer any need for me to be here." Kikyo said, admitting defeat. "Take care of Inuyasha, or I'll be forced to purify _your _ass."

"Hiratkotsu!"

"Wind Tunnel!"

"Nothing's working! Kiara, we need to get higher!" Sango called to her faithful neko youkai as one of Naraku's tentacles came hurtling at them.

"Sango, there's only so much we can do to keep Naraku distracted until Kagome and Kikyo can break through his barrier." Miroku replied calmly to his love. "Say, where is Kikyo?"

The demon slayer looked quickly toward her best friend. Kagome was practically glowing with power. "I guess Kagome can handle the barrier by herself now." she murmured to herself. Just as the words left Sango's mouth, Kagome's arrow broke through Naraku's barrier, effectively weakening the powerful miasma.

"Alright, Inuyasha! He's all yours!" Kagome called across the clearing to her love.

"Well, Miroku, let's get rid of some of these tentacles and help out the demons." Sango commented before having to smack the lecherous houshi for his wandering hands. "Keep your focus on Naraku, not my ass!"

"Kagura, take care of the demon slayer and the monk. Kohaku, you've got the miko." Naraku ordered. "The half breed and his brother are mine."

Kargura and Kohaku each shared a secret look before heading off toward their destinations. The battle had been raging for a whole day, and everyone was beginning to grow weary. Miroku had fallen off of Kiara as a tentacle shot toward the neko youkai and broken several bones. Sango and Kiara were fighting valiantly with Kagura, but couldn't get the upper hand, or so it seemed. Just when everything seemed hopeless, Kagura turned to the taijiya and smiled before sending an attack toward Naraku. Sango just sat and stared at the wind sorceress in shock.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Kagura asked the surprised taijiya. "Naraku is ripe for the taking."

Sango stared at her for another minute before Kagura's words sunk in, and she turned toward their mortal enemy to help out.

Across the clearing, Kagome and Kohaku were fighting their own battle, when in the middle of an attack from Kohaku's scythe, he turned and redirected it at Naraku. Kagome didn't even think twice about what had happened and started firing her arrows toward the giant tentacled freak in the heat of battle with Inuyasha and Sesshomaru.

Just like Kagura and Kohaku's betrayal, the tides began to turn against Naraku. In a desperate attempt to regain the upper hand, Naraku sent out a tentacle towards Kohaku, in an effort to obtain more power from the jewel shard imbedded in the young boy's back.

Rin had been watching the fight intensely. There were a few terse moments for the young girl when she felt her lord was in peril. She would desperately try to run to Sesshomaru but would be stopped short by Jaken. He would severely reprimand the girl and call her silly until she gave up and went back to playing with Ah-Un. She had just rejoined Jaken watching the fight, when she saw a tentacle racing toward Kohaku. She cried out a warning to him, but realized that he could not hear her as he was too much into the fight to notice his surroundings. Rin quietly looked toward Jaken to notice he was more interested in the main fight between Naraku, Inuyasha, and Sesshomaru to thwart her. She quickly made up her mind and started running toward the boy, shouting as she went. She was about ten feet from him when he finally heard her calls of warning and turned around. Naraku chose that moment to speed up his attack. Rin saw this and ran to put herself between the tentacle and Kohaku. But the force from the attack was so strong that it not only went through Rin, but Kohaku as well.

Sesshomaru could only watch on in horror as Naraku's tentacle cut cleanly through the girl he had come to love as a daughter. "Nooooo!!!!" He growled out. His eyes beheld the horror in front of him before turning red. He growled loudly as he prepared to let loose the beast inside of him. He would not let Naraku get away with that.

With Sesshomaru in his true form and Tetsusaiga sharing the power of a jewel shard, Naraku could not stand much longer. "Kagome!" Inuyasha called. "I need one of your arrows now!"

With Inuyasha's attention diverted, Naraku took the chance to end the hanyou's life. He sent a tentacle toward the unsuspecting hanyou, but it did not meet its mark. Just before it would have hit Inuyasha, Kikyo jumped into the way and took the blow meant for her former love. Inuyasha just looked down at the miko and said a silent 'Thanks' before turning back to Naraku. "This is the end of the line, Naraku!" Inuyasha snarled at the beast in front of him. "Now, Kagome!"

Naraku screamed in fury and pain as Kagome's sacred arrow went ripping through his body. Before he could recover enough to counter the attack, Inuyasha sent his own attack toward the wounded hanyou. "Adamant Barrage!"

End Flashback

* * *

"I thought you said this would give me my body back!" Riddle hissed at the demon standing before him. 

"No, I merely said it would give you a body, but this one does seem to fit you quite well." Andrew drawled. The demon calmly stood there taking Riddle's wrath in stride. _There was no reason to be so upset, at least now he has a body. _Andrew thought to himself. "So what do you plan to do now that you have a body?"

"I thought that would have been quite obvious to you, Andrew." Riddle smirked. "I'm going to take over the wizarding world."

"And what of the boy?"

"He will die, just as we planned."

"You seem so confidant of that, but yet he has thwarted you _several_ times already." Andrew snarled.

"Yes, but I plan to take out the old man. With Dumbledore out of the picture, the wizards will be lost." Riddle said.

**_AN: _**_I hate to leave this here, but I figure you all deserve at least something since you've all been so patient_ _these past five months. I promise it won't take me that long to update in the future. Let me know what you think and anything that I can improve on._

_**Blanket disclaimer for A Hanyou's Life:** I do not own anyone or anything you recognize from Harry Potter, Pirates of the Carribean, Full Metal Alchemist, Lord of the Rings, and Inuyasha. I do own Inuai, Kermit, and, the soon to be seen, Mist.  
_


	10. Back to Reality

**Chapter 10**

_The long hiatus is over!!!!!_

_I finally got this chapter out of my head. It's probably not the way I'd like it, but it's out now. And I'll probably tweak it later. _

_The next chapter is really close to done and should be up in a matter of hours. For now, sit back, relax and enjoy this lastest installment._

"Inuyasha! Inuai! You're back!" Kagome cried as she ran toward the two hanyous.

"It's good to be back." Inuai commented as she made her way past the two mates into the campsite. She knew from their scents that they would be greeting each other more intimately later. Inuai sighed. They had been traveling around Feudal Japan for almost three years now, and after seeing the rest of the group with their mates everyday, she was sorely missing her own. _I wonder what Legolas is doing right now. Is he thinking of me like I'm thinking of him?_ She thought to herself.

"Inuai?" Kagura asked breaking the young hanyou from her thoughts. "An owl has been hanging around camp the last few days. We think it's waiting for you because it won't let any of us near it." Inuai smiled as she noticed the scratches on Kagura's hands.

She quickly made her way over to where a small black and white owl rested in a tree. He had the strangest markings for an owl, but he had reminded her so much of Kermit that she had gotten him. "Hey, Mist. You got something there for me?" she asked, untying the parchment from his leg. Mist cocked his head to the side as she took the letter before going back to his tasty mouse. "Hey, guys." Inuai called as she made her way back to camp. "We gotta go."

"Why? What's wrong? Is that creepy MoldyShorts guy back?" Inuyahsa shot out as he came back to camp with Kagome. Both of them looking a bit disheveled.

"Umm, no, _Voldemort _is not back, at least not to my knowledge. It just seems that I've got a job. Muggle Defense. Apparently, the old coot thinks it'll get him back into my good graces."

"Fat lot of good it'll do." Inuyasha quipped.

"So, why must we leave now?" Sesshomaru asked watching Inuai scramble around the campite, packing things up.

"Well, it'll take a couple of days to get back to the well, and I _have _to make a stop in Mirkwood to see Legolas. So, that gives us two weeks to get to Hogwarts. And we're going to need everyday." Inuai explained, picking up Sou'unga. She smiled as the sword responded to her touch. She still remembered the day she first held it in her hands. It had taken her most of that day and part of the next to convince the damn sword that she controlled it and not the other way around.

"So, why are you talking 'we' with this?" Kagura asked causing the youngest hanyou to stop her hurried packing.

"Umm... Maybe because my older brothers made too good of an impression on the old coot, so he wants them to be my assistant teachers." Inuai smirked as she continued to pack.

"Crap!"

* * *

"YOU DID WHAT?!?" 

"I'm sorry, my lord. But I had to know that the ritual would work." Andrew replied, cowering before the hanyou.

"And just what was the point of using a snake demon with this pathetic human?" Naraku asked, glaring at the silver fox demon groveling at his feet. _What is his motive? There has to be something behind my rebirth._

"My lord, the hanyouhas discobered his twin sister. Together, they are unbeatable."

"What difference does another hanyou make?" Naraku asked, mocking the youkai before him.

"The twin is a witch and a very powerful one at that." Andrew replied. _Stupid hanyou. Does he not realize what he is up against? As long as he does what I need done. _He smirked as he thought, all the while keeping his face hidden. _If he only knew that he is only alive to do my bidding._

"And you expect me to get this 'Dark Lord' to get rid of her?" Naraku snarled.

"Not exactly. There is a complication that he will be getting out of the way so you can exact your revenge."

"Fine. Now, leave me."

* * *

"M-my Lord." simmpered the rotund, balding man. 

"What news do you bring me, Wormtail?" hissed the high, cold voice.

"The d-demon is here, my L-lord." Wormtail said, cowering before the snake-like visage of his master.

"Good." Voldemort said contemplating his next strike against the boy.

"Riddle." the demon spat out as he entered the room. He glared at the pathetic figure seated on the throne before him.

"Ah, Andrew. How good of you to report back to me so quickly." Voldemort said, ignoring the growl issuing from Andrew. "What of the demons? Will they join?"

"First of all, I do not report to you, _Riddle._" Andrew ground out. "And the youkais refuse to follow you."

"WHAT??" Voldemort roared.

"They refuse to follow someone who can't even kill a defenseless boy." Andrew smirked.

"I will kill the boy with or without the demons help." Vodemort cried as he pulled his wand from his robes, the Cruciatus curse on his lips, but Andrew was already gone.

_Finally, my plans are coming together. _Andrew thought to himself. _And soon my revenge will be complete. The hanyous will pay for what happened to my family._

Flashback

A young silver fox demon ran through the manor as the smoke from the fire quickly spread. "Momma!" he cried, trying mot to choke on the fumes from the fire. He had to find her!

"Andrew?" a female voice cried faintly. The young demon turned to find a young woman holding a newborn child in her arms. "You shouldn't be here, child. Come with me, I'll get you out." The demon child struggled against the woman's vice-like grip. Didn't she know that he had to find his family?

"Momma! Momma!" he cried over and over, tears running from his eyes only to dry upon his cheeks from the heat of the fire that surrounded him. He let the woman drag him out of the manor, and watched from the edge of the treeline, as it collapsed in on itself.

"Andrew?" the woman said breaking the small youkai from his stupor. He slowly raised his tear-filled blue eyes to look at the woman. "Where's your family, child?" The question seemed to break the youkai's spirit even more.

"They were inside the manor." he said between sniffles.

"Are you sure?" the woman asked, shock showing clearly on her face.

"Y-yes." he stammered.

"Well," she said, strengthing her resolve. "You'll stay with me until you're old enough to be on your own."

A Few Years Later

"Mother."

"Yes, Andrew."

"Inuai ran off again." Andrew informed her. He could never bring himself to call her 'Momma', and he still found it difficult to call her 'Mother', but it's what she wanted to be called. Mother called one of her other childern to go look for the wayward girl. Of course, none of the childern were hers biologically, most, if not all, of them were orphans. According to Mother, Inuai's father had died in the same fire that his family had. But in Andrew's mind, it was all her fault. If her mother hadn't bewitched the Lord of the Western Lands, his family would be with him today.

"Mother?" Andrew asked, trying not to let his voice betray his thoughts. "What kind of youkai is Inuai?"

The woman sat back from where she was tending the fire and settled her gaze on the young youkai. Andrew met her gaze evenly all the while trying not to squirm under the woman's scrutiny. Mother sighed as she finally dropped her gaze. "Inuai isn't a youkai, Andrew. She's a hanyou." she said softly. "Her father was Toga, the Great Dog Demon."  
Andrew's only reaction to the news was a raised eyebrow. _So she's not a true demon._ He thought. _It'll be that much easier to get rid of her._

* * *

"What did you do?" Andrew asked with false concern, looking at the shaking, sobbing figure on the ground. 

"I-I didn't do it." the figure sobbed. "Honest, I d-didn't, Andrew." Tear-filled gold met ice blue before they dropped down in shame.

"Inuai," he said softly with a slight edge to his voice. "It's happened before. It's going to happen again, and you know it." It was only the second time she had lost control like that. He didn't know what was happening, but he knew it wouldn't make it any easier to make her disappear.

"I don't k-know what's wrong with m-me." the hanyou sobbed, trying to make herself smaller. The poor girl was scared, and Andrew could smell her fear as though it were a palpable thing.

"You're a danger to those around you. You can't control it, and someone's going to get hurt. It'll be all your fault." Andrew knew he had hit home with that last comment as Inuai looked up at him as if he had slapped her.

"Maybe I can take lessons from a miko to control this whatever it is." she said pitifully, wiping furiously at the tears on her face. Andrew knew the miko would not be able to help the hanyou. But he wouldn't tell her that.

"Yes, Inuai. You need to go now." Andrew replied calmly.

"W-what?" Inuai croaked out as her head snapped up quickly.

"Run to the nearest miko and have her help you. Then maybe you won't be such a danger to us all." he spat before turning and walking away.

End Flashback

That was the last time he had seen the young hanyou in Japan. Andrew hadn't thought of her until the letter had arrived for the English Tai-Youkai. And here Andrew had presumed Inuai to be dead. He would not make that mistake again. This time he would watch her die slowly.

**_Blanket Disclaimer for A Hanyou's Life:_**

_I don't own anythng you recognize. If I did, I wouldn't be writing fan fiction._

_Please click the little purple button below, and let me know what you think. _

_Thank You!!!!_


	11. Back to Hogwarts

**Chapter 11**

**Back to Hogwarts**

_Okay, here's the next installment. See I told you I'd have it out in a few hours. :) _

_As always, sit back, relax, and enjoy. Oh, and have a happy Labor Day!!!!_

"Inuai, I hope there are no ill feelings between us." Dumbledore began, his eyes twinkling like mad.

"Of course, there are ill feelings, Headmaster." Inuai replied sarcastically, smirking as the twinkling

dimmed. "But I won't let that interfere with this working relationship." Dumbledore visibly brightened

at that statement and beamed at the young woman.

"Good, good. Then I shall have Dobby show you to your rooms, so that you may rest."

* * *

"That stupid, dumb, betarded... bastard!!" Inuai grumbled as she made her way through the castle. She didn't see how he could still be in such positions of power when he was clearly senile. Maybe she should get him some adult diapers for Christmas. _Or better yet, _she thought to herself, _some Viagra so he can finally make a move on Minerva. Kami knows the woman needs to get laid. _She had become so focused on her thoughts that she didn't realize where she was going until she was stopped abruptly bay a wall. Which upon looking up, Inuai found it to be the Fat Lady guarding the entrance to Gryffindor Tower. 

"And who is this? Out after curfew?" the Fat Lady asked coming back into her frame. "Oh, it's _you._" she said disdainfully.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going." Inuai commented sheepishly.

"Well! Maybe next time you'll watch where you are going." the Fat Lady said looking highly affronted.

"Listen," Inuai growled. "I know I did some stupid things when I was younger, and I'm sorry. But that doesn't mean you can still treat me like the scum of the Earth!"

"Yes, well."

"Maybe we can come to a truce. You watch over my godson, and I won't do to you what I did to Dumbledore's gargoyle." The Fat Lady's eyes widened comically. "Ah, so I see you heard about that. So, do we have a deal?"

The Fat Lady visibly gulped before composing herself. "Who's your godson?"

"Harry Potter."

* * *

"Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts!" Dumbledore's voice boomed out over the Great Hall. "I know you are all tired and want to head to your rooms after that delicious meal, but there are a few announcements to be made. First and foremost, the Forbidden Forest is exactly as it sounds, forbidden. Also, Mr. Filch has updated his list to include all items made by Fred and George Weasley. Who Argus is very happy to have back joining us this year." A round of cheers and applause rang out from the Gryffindor table as the twins stood up with triumphant smiles on their faces. As the cheering calmed down, Dumbledore continued. " We have a few changes and additions to the staff this year. Taking over the Defense position is our illustrious Potions Master, Professor Snape. Taking over Potions, is Professor Horace Slughorn, whom I ask that you treat with the utmost respect. Also this year, we will be offering a new class. It will be mandatory for fifth years and up. You will not need your wands as this is a Muggle Defense class, and teaching you will be a former student, Professor Inuai Grennleaf. Now, if the prefects would please lead the first years to their respective dorms, I bid you all a good night." 

Harry looked at the Head Table where Professor Greenleaf sat. He had a vague inkling that he knew her from somewhere, but try as he might, he could not figure out why. As if knowing she was being watched, Inuai looked toward the Gryffindor table where gold meet vivid emerald green. She winked and had to stifle a laugh as she quickly made her way out of the Great Hall and to her room.

Harry sat in front of the fireplace, confusion clearly written on his face when Ron and Hermione made their way into the common room.

"Hey mate. What's up?" Ron asked breaking the raven-haired boy from his thoughts.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm fine." Harry replied half heartedly.

"Harry, did you have another vision?" Hermione asked worriedly. "Because if you did, you've got to tell Dumbledore!"

"What? No!" Harry exclaimed. "It's the new Professor."

"Yeah. She's a right looker, ain't she?" Ron asked grinning from ear to ear before he was cuffed upside the head by Hermione.

"Well, I guess." Harry replied.

"So, what is it then?" Hermione coaxed.

"I think I know her."

* * *

Harry was still stumped the next morning at breakfast. "You know, she doesn't look old enough to be a professor." Hermione mused somewhat to herself. "She only looks about sixteen or seventeen." 

"Maybe that's how you know her!" Ron exclaimed around his mouthful of eggs.

"What are you on about?" Hermione grumbled , delicately flicking a piece of egg from her cheek.

"You said it yourself. She looks like she's our age." Ron said, oblivious to the looks of confusion on his friends faces. "Maybe you knew her from your old school."

"No." Harry said after a moment of thought. "Even if Dudley didn't drive everyone away from me, I think I'd remember somebody with silver hair."

"Oh, right." Ron said blushing slightly.

"Well, maybe you'll figure it out in class tonight." Hermione commented. "But for now, we need to get to Potions. Come on, Harry. See you later, Ron."

* * *

"Alright! Everyone needs to listen up!" Professor McGonagall called out over the Great Hall. "We're going to break this class up by years, but tonight is just an introduction to the course. They're all yours, Merry." she said as she left the room. 

The room quieted almost instantly as the three demons stepped onto the stage at the top of the hall. Inuai looked about the room noticing the looks from the students. "Well, since we already have your attention," she began, "Let me just reiterate that this is just an introduction." Inuai continued as she began to walk back and forth across the stage. "First of all, my name is Inuai Greenleaf. You may call me Merry while in class. In the hallways, you will address me as Professor. Is that understood?" Inuai smiled as a large chorus of agreement met her ears. "Okay, because this is such a large class, I've brought my brothers along to assist me in teaching and keeping everyone in line. The young man standing to my right and is thus my second in command, is my older brother, Sesshomaru. Don't let his calm demeanor fool you. You get on his bad side, and you'll definitely see his temper. Mr. Pouty over here," Inuai said gesturing towards her left, "is my twin, Inuyasha. Before we start explaining what this class entails, does anyone have any questions?"

"Professor Dumbledore said you went to school here." A Ravenclaw girl spoke up. "But you look like you're our age. How long ago did you graduate?"

"I'm sure many of you are wondering the same thing." Inuai smiled as many of the students nodded in response. "I won't tell you exactly when I graduated, but I will tell you that I did go to school with Professor Snape."

"Was he just as mean then?" asked a timid Hufflepuff.

"Actually, I was never around him much in school, so I couldn't tell you." she replied. He was actually a good, if somewhat soft-spoken, young man. He was also the top of his class in every subject, but his love for potions was obvious even then. "Right. Anymore questions?"

"Where are you from originally?" came a voice from the back. Inuai looked carefully at the bushy haired girl. _That must be the witch Remus told me about._

"Both my brothers and I are from Japan. Although, I did a lot more traveling than they did." Inuai replied hoping that someone else would ask a question.

"Well, I've never seen a Japanese person with silver hair before. So, are you all using a glamour or some type of hair dye?" Hermione asked with a smug look on her face.

"Are you sure you want to know that?" Inuai asked. She smiled grimly as she got affirmative answers from everyone in the room, including the Slytherins. "Alright, our hair color is not a glamour nor is it from a dye. It is completely nature. Now, for your first assisngment. Next class, I want two feet on hanyous and youkais. I also want you to tell me about different fighting styles you are interested in."

* * *

"Harry, just go talk to her." Hermione coaxed. "The worst she can do is tell you no."

"I don't think I can." Harry said. "At least, not with her brothers up there."

"Mr. Potter. Please come see me after class."

"Well, that solves that. We'll see you back in the common room, mate." Ron said, clapping his friend on the back. Harry waited until the class had cleared out before making his way slowly to the front of the room.

"Hey, guys. Why don't you get lost for awhile. I want to talk to Harry alone."

"Feh! Whatever."

"Harry." Inuai smiled. "Walk with me, talk with me. So, tell me, Harry, what do you know about your parents."

"Not much, Professor." Harry replied. "Just what I've been told."

"We're still in the classroom, Harry. You can call me Merry." Inuai said gently. "Your mother did." Harry looked up sharply at that. She knew his mother? Maybe he did know her after all, he thought hopefully.

"You knew my mother?" he asked, hope shining brightly in his eyes. His eyes which reminded everyone so much of Lily.

"She and I were best friends." Inuai said, smiling in remembrance. "In fact, we were such good friends, that we even dated best friends."

"Really? So, then you knew my dad, too?"

"Like I said, young grasshopper. We dated best friends." Inuai said as she winked playfully at the Gryffindor. "While your mom and dad got together, I cozied up with your godfather."

"You and Sirius?" Harry asked disbelievingly. He had a hard time seeing his godfather getting serious with anyone.

"Believe it or not, pup, yes. Oh! Before I forget, did you perchance come into possession of a certain map?" Inuai asked grinning mischievously.

"You know about the Marauder's Map?" Harry's eyes were wide with disbelief. Maybe she knew more than he thought.

"Summon it, please." Inuai said simply as she twirled and skipped back towards the front of the room and her desk. Harry quickly summoned the map and made his way to where Inuai was leaning against the desk, twirling her wand between her fingers. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good." she said as she tapped the parchment. Harry watched as the familiar names spread across the parchment, wondering what Merry could possibly want to do with the map. "What do you say about making a couple of changes to this?"

"Changes?" Harry asked. He didn't think you could change the Marauder's Map. If he would've known that, he would have taken that traitor's name off of it a long time ago. Not that he hadn't tried already.

"Yeah, I was thinking about putting the real Marauders on here." Inuai looked over at Harry trying to decide if he was ready for this.

"If it means not having that traitor on there, then I'm all for it." Harry said forcefully. He did not want to see Wormtail's name anywhere near his father's.

"You'd better believe he won't be on there anymore. He was never a Marauder to begin with." Inuai spat with venom in her voice. She started to incant in a language that Harry had never heard before. As the map started to glow, he saw Wormtail's name fade out and a new one take it's place.

"Pads?" Harry read. He had never heard mention of that name when talking of the Marauders.

"Yep. I was given that name by Padfoot himself." Inuai said with pride. "Crap! I've kept you too long. You'd better get back to Gryffindor Tower. On second thought," she said upon seeing the disappointment on Harry's face, " why don't I take you back myself so you won't get into trouble."

"I'd like that."

"Ah, here we are!" Inuai cheered as she and Harry finally made it back to Gryffindor. "Looks like the Fat Lady's out for the night."

"It's okay." Harry said. "She's bound to be back soon. I'll just wait for her."

"The hell you will! Now, where is it?" Inuai said as she started looking at the bricks around the portrait hole. "I know it's here somewhere."

"What are you doing?" Harry asked curiously still watching Inuai search the bricks and wondering if she was completely sane.

"The brick." she said as if that explained everything. "Ah! There it is!" she crowed triumphantly a few minutes later. She quickly looked at the young Gryffindor standing beside her before leaning down conspiratorially. "You didn't learn this from me." She pushed one of the bricks and the portrait popped open. "In you go. Oh, and Harry? That little trick is just between you and me." With a wink and a nod, Inuai turned and headed to her rooms, leaving a stunned Harry in the portrait hole.

**_Blanket Disclaimer for A Hanyou's Life:_**

_I don't own anything you recognize. Otherwise, I'd be living with a very spoiled daughter._

_Please read and review. I like to hear what you have to say._


	12. The Plot Thickens

_Here, we are, my darlings. Another new chapter. I know it's not very long, but I'm working on getting them out for you._

_This isn't exactly how I wanted this chapter to go, but it just took on a life of it's own._

_Newayz... Here it is and enjoy!!!_

**Chapter 12**

"That's amazing, Harry!" Ron exclaimed the next morning at breakfast. "So, she really knew your parents in school?"

"Yeah, she said she even dated Sirius!" Harry said beaming happily. It was the happiest he had looked since losing his godfather, and, for that, Hermione was grateful. It had been too long since she had seen her friend genuinely happy in a long time. It hurt her more than she would ever let anyone know. _Maybe,_ she thought,_ things were finally looking up. _She just prayed to whatever higher being was listening that Harry wouldn't lose this piece of his past for a long time to come.

"Umm.. Hermione?" Harry asked hesitantly.

"Yes," the bushy haired teen answered, being broken from her hope filled thoughts.

"Professor Greenleaf wants us all to meet her tonight after classes. She has something important to discuss with us." Harry said looking serious.

"Ok, Harry. Now, let's get to Potions before Slughorn comes looking for his new celebrity." Hermione smirked at a suddenly red Harry.

* * *

The trio walked silently through the corridors behind their professor. She had made it look like they had detention so that they wouldn't be in trouble for being out after curfew. Hermione looked toward Harry hoping he knew what was going on, but he just shrugged. He had just been told when to report to Professor Greenleaf's office. They walked out onto the grounds and nobody could ignore the beauty of Hogwarts at night. The moon was full and high in the sky, and Harry couldn't help but wonder if Moony was okay. Inuai turned slightly to make sure the three students were still behind her and caught Harry's worried look. "He's okay, you know." she said softly, making all three Gryffindors jump a little at the sound.

"Yeah, I know." he said, his head down. "But I still wonder if he's alright."

"Don't worry, pup. Moony's been taking care of himself for many years now. He knows how to listen to his instincts." Inuai smiled.

"Did she just call you pup?" Ron mouthed to his best friend. Harry just nodded with a small smile. He had gotten so used to Moony calling him cub that one new endearing nickname, he could handle.

"Where are we going, Professor?" Hermione asked when she noticed where they were heading.

"We're not in class, Ms. Granger." Inuai said calmly as she started walking faster towards the Forbidden Forest. She had a place in mind for their meeting, but she had to move quickly or they wouldn't get back until early morning. "Now, hurry up. We have so much to do and not enough time to do it in."

Harry, Hermione, and Ron looked warily at each other, but followed dutifully after their professor, discreetly fingering their wands. They weren't too sure if Merry could defend herself let alone all of them.

The shadows danced about them as if they were alive. The three Gryffindors looked around them warily as they followed Inuai further into the Forest then anyone of them had been before. Presently they came upon a clearing. The students looked around in awe. It looked as if this place didn't fit in with the rest of the Forest. The shadows that danced right on the edge of their vision seemed to shrink away from this place and the moon shone brightly through a hole in the clouds that dominated the sky.

Merry sniffed the air as she looked around. There was something that was 'off' tonight, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. _You'd better make this quick and get these kids back to the castle._

'I know. But I need to let them know what they're up against.' Merry waved her hand over the ground and a checkered blanket appeared on the ground with Butterbeers for all those present. "Come and sit down quickly. We have much to discuss."

* * *

Two ice blue eyes looked out at the three humans and hanyou that sat in the middle of the clearing seemingly oblivious to the danger that watched them from the tree line. He thought for sure _she_ had found him out when they had entered the clearing. She had looked _directly_ at him! He was sure he had been found out. So, why had she acted like there was nothing there? It didn't make any sense! He had been so sure that she would have either bolted or ousted him from his hiding spot. But she had just made the blanket and bottles appear and acted as if nothing was wrong. Well, that would change. Now, if only he could hear what she was saying.

* * *

"So, you see the seriousness of the issue at hand. That's why I want you three to take special lessons with my brothers and I." Inuai said, her face looking somewhat sad but very determined. "I don't want you three to become killing machines, but I do want you to know how to fight without your wands in case they are taken from you."

"We'll do it, Pro.. I mean, Merry." Hermione said confidently, speaking for the two boys. They all shared the same resolve. They knew it would come down to Harry and Voldemort, but they wanted to be standing beside him just the same.

"Yeah, we'll do anything if it'll help Harry and get rid of that snake faced bastard!" Ron said hotly.

"Ronald!" Hermione shrieked, causing Inuai to flatten her ears to her head and wince from the noise.

"What?"

"It's okay, Hermione. He has ever right to call him that. You can no more than call a creature what it is." Inuai said sagely. She lifted her nose to the sky as the wind picked up before tensing noticeably. "Get up and behind me. Now!" she shouted as the blanket disappeared. The three students quickly did as they were told. They had never seen their teacher so unnerved like she was. Something was wrong. They could all feel it as though it were a palpable thing. A low growl issued from Inuai's throat as she stared at the tree line.

Harry looked around Inuai enough to see a large black dog enter the clearing. He gasped. _No! It can't be!_ He thought to himself. _I saw him fall through the veil._ But it had to be! No one could fake an animagus form. Hermione had said so, and she was hardly wrong. He tried to make his way around Inuai to get to the dog, but was stopped by a clawed hand on his shoulder and a growl. Harry looked up into a face that hadn't been there just a few minutes prior.

"Get back, foolish boy!" Inuai bit out. "It's _Not_ Sirius! Now, get back to the castle. You're in danger here."

Harry looked at Inuai for a moment deciding if she was correct and that it wasn't Sirius. He needed to see for himself, but another side of him said to high tail it out of there with all his limbs and life intact.

"I'll not tell you again! Now, go! And don't forget the spell I taught you!" Inuai called as she stepped toward the dog. Hermione pulled on Harry's arm as he resisted the urge to stay. With great reluctance, he took one final look at the dog and Inuai before turning and following his friends out of the Forest.

Inuai stared down the animal in front of her. This was not Sirius. It couldn't be! Something was off about the scent, but she couldn't quite figure it out. "Alright, show yourself!" she snapped angrily.

The dog merely cocked it's head to the side and let out a low whine.

"I know you're not who you are pretending to be! So, give up the farce and show your true self!" she growled fiercely. She watched with a guarded expression as the dog turned into, not the face she had grown to love, but a face from her past. The sliver fox demon looked at her with loathing and pure hatred in his eyes. The last time she had seen him, he had looked at her like a big brother only wanting the best for her.

"So, I see the years have been good to you." he sneered.

"It's good to see you too, Matsudaira." Inuai snarled. "Now, what the hell do you want."

"Ah, so you remember. How quaint." He said smirked at the hanyou. "I just wanted to come by and see how my little 'sister' is doing. Is that such a bad thing?" Matsudaira answered looking as innocent as he could muster with a sneer on his face. "I should thank you. Without you, I never would have become what I am now."

"And what's that, Matsudaira? An ass? The shit on the bottom of my shoe?" Inuai laughed, never moving from her defensive position. She laughed inwardly as a growl issued forth from the demon in front of her.

"You'll pay for that, you little bitch!" he snarled at her. "I'd kill you now, if I didn't already have a purpose for you."

"And what purpose is that?" Inuai growled.

"I'm surprised you don't already know." Matsudaira sneered. "Your youki should be screaming the truth at you as we speak. Or do you not listen to it?"

"What are you talking about?" Inuai asked moving slightly from her position.

"You, little wench, are my mate." Matsudaira said plainly with a look of disgust on his face. "But I would rather kill you for what your family has done to me."

"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, old man, but I've already found my mate, and it's not you!" Inuai spat as if she had tasted something foul.

"That's impossible!" He yelled.

"Sorry." Inuai chuckled. "Besides, I would never mate with you. I despise you and being in your presence. So, get the hell out of here before I drive you out."

"What can you possibly do to me, bitch." Matsudaira smirked. "You're just a waif of a thing. A strong breeze would cause you to fall down."

"I have two words for you, Matsudaira." Inuai smirked right back. "Accio, So'unga." Matsudaira's eyes widen as the sword came whistling toward them and landed directly in Inuai's waiting hand. "Make your next move, demon scum."

"You may have won this battle, but you will not win the war." Matsudaira spat as he backed into the Forest. "You will suffer and then you will watch your family die."

"Bastard." Inuai growled as she stood still in the clearing watching the trees and shadows around her. _What the hell is his plan? There's no way we could be his mate! Our youki would've called to his when we were children._

'I know.' Inuai thought, breathing hard. She had had such a tight hold on her magic and demon blood that it had left her exhausted. She knew she would have a hard time making it back to the castle on her own, but knew of no one to help her. Just as she was dragging herself to her feet to make the long trek back to the castle, a strong hand gripped her arm. Inuai swung around with So'unga to strike down the attacker, only to find Sesshomaru looking down at her with what looked to be a strange mix of amusement and worry.

"Come on, Little One." he said softly as he lifted the hanyou to her feet. "I'll help you back."

"How did you know?" Inuai asked, still breathing hard.

"Harry." was the only word Inuai heard before she wrenched her arm from Sesshomaru's grip and ran to the nearest tree, where she proceeded to empty all contents from her stomach. "Are you ok?" Sesshomaru asked slightly worried from just over her.

"Yeah, yeah. Just a little after effect from the confrontation, that's all." Inuai said as she smiled weakly up at the tai-youkai before falling back against the tree.

"You're in no fit state to walk." Sesshomaru said stating the obvious before signaling to Inuyasha standing a few feet away.

**_Blanket Disclaimer for A Hanyou's Life: _**

_I don't own anything that you recognize. If I did, I wouldn't have any bills and could give my daughter the life she deserves._


	13. Chapter 13

_Hey, guys! I know it's been awhile since I last updated and I'm sorry. But here's the next chapter. _

_There's a bit of a surprise at the end and I'd really like some input on where you think I should go with that idea._

_If it should happen or not. Newayz..._

_Sit back, relax, and enjoy_

**Chapter 13**

"So, what the hell happened out there?"

"I do not know, Inuyasha."

"Well, I want some damn answers, and I want them NOW!!!"

"Would you please shut up, baka. Do you want her to wake up?"

"YES!!"

"Mr. Takahasi! If you are not quiet this instant, I shall have you removed from this infirmary."

_So, that's where I am._ Inuai thought to herself. She tried to open her eyes, but quickly thought better of that idea as she was almost blinded by the harsh bright white of the Hospital Wing. The small groan that escaped from her alerted those around the room to the fact that she was now awake.

"Inuai, what happened?" a gentle voice asked above her.

"Ummm... I did something that was, in reality, very stupid, but at the time, I thought it was the right thing to do." Inuai said meekly while looking up at her mate.

"And what was so stupid?" Legolas asked patiently.

"I, uh, summoned So'unga to me." Everyone's eyes widen fractionally as they looked down at the young hanyou. "I really didn't know it was a bad thing when I did it, honest! I was just trying to protect myself and the students!"

"I know, you don't have to defend yourself." Legolas said reassuringly. "Poppy, is she free to go?"

"Yes, just make sure that she rests." the mediwitch said primly.

* * *

"You're suppose to be resting, love." Legolas admonished lovingly.

"Don't tell me what to do!" Inuai bit out. At the hurt look on her mate's face, she quickly changed her tone. "I'm sorry, really I am. It's just that I have too much going on to sit still."

"Mrs. Greenleaf?" came a voice from the fireplace. Inuai turned around to see the face of the headmaster in the flames. 

"What can I do for you, Headmaster?" Inuai asked politely.

"It seems as though you have a couple of visitors in my office." Dumbledore said kindly. "I believe they said their names are Vikirnoff and Natalya." he elaborated at the hanyou's confused look.

"I'll be right there!" Inuai called excitedly as she ran from the room. Legolas quickly rose and followed his mate out, intent on making her rest per Pomfrey's orders.

* * *

"So what you're telling me, is that the vampires are aligning themselves with Voldemort, but the Carpathians are not?" Dumbledore asked quizzically.

"Yes, sir." Inuai said, clearly exasperated by the headmaster's lack of understanding.

"I still don't see your point, Mrs. Greenleaf."

"ARGH!!! Never mind!" Inuai growled, her eyes briefly flashing red before she turned and stormed out the door. If he didn't understand what she had explained to him _twice_, it was his own damn fault!

"Inuai?" asked a tentative voice, the hanyou, still very much in her thoughts, turned and pinned the intruder (in her mind) to the wall. She let out a gasp before releasing the man's neck.

"Oh, Kami, Moony! I'm so sorry!"

"It's okay, Pads. I'm fine. Besides," the werewolf chuckled, "I'd forgotten how good your reflexes are."

"Very funny, Moony." Inuai replied sarcastically. "Say, what are you doing after supper tonight?"

"Nothing that cant' be changed."

"Good, come to my rooms after dinner and bring Harry with you." And with that the hanyou turned and left.

* * *

Everyone in the Great Hall looked up to see a small black and white owl come flying in at dinner. All trying to figure out what was going on as it wasn't time for post owls. Presently, the owl came to rest in front of Harry. He took the parchment from the bird before giving it a piece of bacon from his plate.

"Who's it from, Harry?" Hermione asked her friend as the boy in question opened the parchment.

_Mr. Potter,_

_Your presence is requested in my quarters this evening._

_ Mr. Lupin will accompanying you._

_I.G._

"It's from Professor Greenleaf." Harry said a bit shocked.

"What's she want, mate?" Ron asked around a mouthful of food.

"I don't know, but I will soon, cuz here comes Moony."

"Hey, Harry!" Moony greeted the young boy cheerfully. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, I'll see you guys later." Harry said as he got up to follow Remus. "So, what's going on, Moony?"

"I know about as much as you do, cub. So, I guess we'll find out together." Remus on the door to Inuai's rooms before stepping back to wait.

"Don't you know the password?" Harry asked confused.

"Yes, but I can never pronounce it correctly." the werewolf replied sheepishly as the door opened and the two were ushered in by a raven-haired young woman.

"Inuai's been expecting you, she'll be right down." she said smiling brightly.

"Thank you, Miss..."

"Call me Kagome." she smiled as she shook both boys hands. "I'm Inuai's sister-in-law. At least, that makes the most sense to us humans."

"I see you didn't use the password again, Moony." Inuai teased as she came down from the upper levels of the tower.

"You know it can't say it right, Pads." Remus bit back playfully. Inuai merely laughed as she shooed the rest of her family out of the common area. As soon as everyone was out of the room, Inuai put up the most complex silencing charm she knew. "Ok, it must be pretty serious for you to use that particular charm." Moony commented somberly.

"Well, I don't need anyone else to hear this, especially Dumbledore." Inuai said. "Now, why don't we sit down, and I'll explain everything." Remus and Harry looked at each other quizzically before sitting on the couch. "Dobby!"

"Yes, Missus Greenleaf, ma'am." the little house elf squeaked.

"Dobby, what have I told you to call me?"

"Dobby is sorry, Padsy."

"That's alright, Dobby. Would you mind getting us some tea and sake, please?" Inuai asked sweetly.

"Right away, Padsy!" and with that the house elf disappeared only to pop in a second later with the requested items. "Anything else Dobby can get for you, Padsy?"

"No, Dobby. That'll be all. Thank you."

"Inuai, please tell me that the sake isn't for you." Remus pleaded softly, slightly shocked that the pregnant hanyou had had it brought up.

"No, Remus." Inuai replied. "That's for Sesshomaru whenever he decides to get his tailed butt down here!" she ended in a yell.

"Must you always screech like that?" the tai-youkai commented with amusement in his voice. He knew it hurt her ears just as much when she did that.

"Good, now we can start." Inuai glared at Sesshomaru, miffed that he had kept them waiting. "I've got something that I want to try out that will take three different aspects of our world to accomplish." she started slowly. "This has never been done before so, I don't want to get your hopes up if it doesn't work." The hanyou looked seriously at Remus and Harry.

"What are you going to try, Pads?" Remus asked carefully as Harry nodded his head wondering the same thing.

"I want to get Sirius out of the Veil." the hanyou said softly but with determination shining brightly in her eyes.

"WHAT!!??" Harry and Remus asked at the same time, thinking of what that could mean. For Harry, it meant a home and never seeing the Dursleys ever again. For Remus, it would mean having part of his past back. A part that he missed dearly.

"So, how's this supposed to work?" Harry asked tentatively.

"Well, I have a rough outline right now, but by the time this needs to be done, it'll be ready." Inuai said softly. "At least, I hope it will."

"So, how long until it needs to be done?" Remus asked as everyone looked toward the sheepish looking hanyou.

"Halloween. At least, that's what all my calculations say." Inuai looked up at Remus. "Which means that you won't be able to be there to help, Moony. I'm sorry."

"What do you mean, I won't be able to help?" Remus bit out. "A pack of rabid werewolves wouldn't keep me away!"

"That may be, Moony, but one single full moon will keep you away that night." Inuai said apologetically.

"You mean?"

"I'm sorry, Moony. If I could do it any other night I would! You know I would!" Inuai cried out to her distraught friend. A couple of tears leaked out of her eyes. She knew how much this was going to kill her friend. She just wished with all her heart that she could move the night of the full moon for him or cure his lycanthropy.

"You know what? It'll be okay." Remus said calmly, shocking everyone present. "If it means getting Sirius back, I'll stay far away so no one gets hurt."

"Thank you, Moony." Inuai said wiping away the few tears that had leaked out.

"I'm just curious why you asked me to come if you already knew that I wouldn't be able to be there?"

"I need you to help Harry." Inuai said flatly.

"Me?" Harry asked.

"Yes, Harry, you. I need three different people to get this to work. A demon, an elf, and a wizard." Inuai explained. "While I have all three heritages in me, I cannot say all the spells at the same time."

"Oh." Harry didn't expect to help in the spell, but he decided he would learn part in it and make it perfect. The group talked for about an hour longer before Remus left to escort Harry back to Gryffindor Tower.

_**Blanket Disclaimerfor A Hanyou's Life:** _

_I don't own anything you recognize. If I did, my daughter would probably be a spoiled brat._

_So, let me know what you think about Sirius by hitting that little button down there._

_ If you don't, I'll do my own thing whether you like it or not. _

_So there!!!_

_Cheers!!!!!!_


	14. To Bring Back A Marauder

**_Alright guys! Here's the next installment to the ongoing story. _**

**_I'm sorry it took so long to get it out, but it just didn't like the way I wanted to write it._**

**_The next chapter is written and I've already got a good start on chapter 16 so, hopefully it won't take me as long to update next time. _**

**_So, for the time being, sit back, relax, and enjoy!_**

**Chapter 14**

Inuai, Sesshomaru, and Harry stood silently in front of the Veil. Each thinking of what was about to happen, each with doubts on whether or not it would work. There was only one way to know and that was to do it. "It's time." Sesshomaru said softly, causing the young wizard to jump slightly.

"Okay, Harry." Inuai said turning toward her godson. "I need you to concentrate on the incantation and on Sirius. Picture him as clearly as you can, everything you can remember about him." Harry nodded his understanding of the task set before him. If this would bring back his godfather, he would do anything.

"What about the elven part of the ritual?" Harry asked timidly. The question had been on his mind ever since he had heard of the ritual.

"That would be my concern." came a calm voice from the shadows. The motley group turned to see Legolas walking silently toward them. "Now, I believe it's time we got down to business."

Harry quickly sat down cross-legged and began his task of focusing on his godfather.

"Alright, Harry, start the incantation now." Inuai's voice carried over all the thoughts racing through the young man's head. Inuai listened to the soft cadence of Harry's voice as he whispered the incantation over and over again. She knew this would work. _It just has to._ She thought to herself. The hanyou looked calmly over to her brother who stood just to her left and gave a barely perceptible nod letting him know to began his contribution to the ritual. Everything had to be done perfectly and in the right order. If anything was done incorrectly, they would fail and Sirius would be stuck forever. Inuai listened, almost in a trance, to the baritone growl of Sesshomaru. It was soothing to hear her own language after so many years of being away from it. But she needed to break away from it before she mucked something up. She slowly turned still listening to both Harry and Sesshomaru to face her mate and the last piece of the puzzle.

She had originally planned on doing this part herself, but, after hearing her mate and family's arguments and reviewing the ritual, she knew that she could not do it and bring Sirius out of the Veil. It would've been too risky.

Legolas looked at his wife and soul mate, smiling softly. He knew how much she wanted this to work. She missed this link to her past, and he could feel just how much through their bond.

Inuai smiled back at her mate and gave him the go-ahead to start the elven chant to bring her friend back to the land of the living. As she turned back to face the Veil, she listened to the dulcet tones of her mate's voice as it lifted the words of life to the heavens.

Taking a breath, Inuai schooled her features and looked into the Veil. Now would come the hard part, bringing Sirius back through the Veil. She glanced to her left to make sure Sesshomaru had Tenseiga with him. Much more reassured after seeing the fang on his hip, Inuai looked back toward the Veil. _It's now or never._

"Sirius." the hanyou called out toward the Veil. She needed him to answer her or this would not work. If need be, she would go into the Veil to get him, but only as a last resort. "Sirius Black!" she called out louder.

"Who is it?" came the very distant but recognizable voice.

"It's Inuai, Siri." Inuai called out confidently. _It's working! _

"Inuai? What's going on? Why are you here? Where are you?"

"Yes, Siri. It's really me." the hanyou smiled. "I'm... We're here to get you out. But I need your help."

"Get me out? Out of where?" Sirius asked, confusion evident in his voice.

Inuai screwed up her face, confused for a moment. _Does he not remember what happened?_ "Siri, what is the last thing you remember?" she asked timidly.

"I was talking to Harry in the Department of Mysteries." Sirius replied.

"Well, that solves that one." she muttered under her breath. "Siri, you fell through the Veil. That's where you are now, but you don't belong there."

"Oh."

"We're trying to get you out, but we need your help." Inuai said almost pleading with her friend.

"What can I do? I'm stuck in here, you can't get me out." Sirius said dejectedly.

"Well, we can't with that attitude." the hanyou snapped. "Siri, I'm going to reach through the Veil, and I need you grab hold of my hand. Can you do that for me?"

"I'll try, but it's kinda hard to tell which direction I need to go. Everything echoes so I can't follow your voice either."

"It's okay, just look for my hand." Inuai called out as she reached her hand through the Veil. A slightly odd and chilled feeling enveloped her hand as it crossed into the misty area beyond. Suddenly, something grasped hold of her hand, causing her to gasp. "Siri, is that you?"

"I think so. I just grabbed hold of the hand that appeared from nowhere. Is it yours? Please tell me it's yours!" Sirius called out pleadingly.

"It's mine, Siri!" Inuai cried out joyfully. She couldn't contain her happiness as a large smile took over her face. "Alright, I need you to concentrate on my hand, keep a hold of it. And no matter what you do, don't let go!"

"What happens if I let go of your hand?"

"I'll come in there and kick your ass!" Inuai shouted, more than a pit peeved when she heard the marauder laughing. "Ok, Siri, on the count of three, I'm going to pull you out."

"Alright, but I don't know if I can hang on." Sirius called, his hand already slipping from the hanyou's grip.

"Ok, on second thought, I'm pulling now!!" Inuai yelled as she pulled against the force that was just beyond the Veil. "Come on!" Just as Inuai saw Sirius' hand begin to emerge from the Veil, it was gone.

"NO!!"

"I'm sorry, Pads." Sirius said softly. "Something caused me to let go. I don't know what though."

"It's okay, Siri. It just means I'm going to have to come in after you." Inuai sighed. She had been hoping that this wouldn't have to happen. There was really no telling if she would be able to bring him out with her or if she would be able to get out herself. "Sirius? I need you to do something for me. I need you to make me mad. And I don't mean just a little mad, you need to really piss me off."

"Easily done, my dear." Sirius teased from the other side. "I was born to piss you off."

As Sirius started on his task of pissing off the hanyou, Inuai thought back to all the times that she had nearly lost control of her demon side until she came to the day that she and Legolas had went to check on Harry after the manipulative bastard had told them that it was impossible for them to take him to the Elven realm. The sight of blood on his tiny forehead and the oaf of a boy beating her godson repeatedly over the years, shot to the forefront of her mind. It was all it took. Inuai started growling as her eyes flashed dangerously red until they stayed that color, and she saw red. Sesshomaru, while not breaking in his cadence, looked over at his sister from the corner of his eye. He had almost been hoping that she would have to go in after the mortal. He was curious as to what she would look like when she let her demon blood overcome her. His eyes widen marginally when, instead of a dark purple like he and Inuyasha sported, two bright, almost leaf, green stripes appeared across her cheeks. _I wonder if that has anything to do with her mate being elf. It's definitely something worth looking into. _

Inuai focused solely on the Veil in front of her and getting back one of the last links to Harry's life. She started to walk towards the decrepit archway. She could feel as the ghostly fabric wafted over her, making a tingling sensation all over her lithe form.

Suddenly, Inuai was enveloped in a blinding white light. All around her was white and mist. _Siri? _Her voice echoed throughout the place as if she were in a large cavern. 'Well, now I know why Siri couldn't follow my voice.' she thought to herself. _Siri? _She called out again.

_I knew you would find me._ Inuai turned around quickly and came face to face with Sirius Black.

_Siri!_ She cried throwing her arms around her friend. Inuai almost cried as she felt his arms encircle her slim waist and hugged her back.

_Inuai, it was extremely foolish for you to come in here._ Sirius said, finally letting go of the hanyou. Inuai looked up at him puzzled as she asked what he meant by that. _Once someone goes through the Veil, they never come back out. It's a one-way ticket to the Other Side._

Inuai looked around and noticed a few people looking at her sadly as he said this. _Siri? I think I'm one of the only ones who can come and go freely from here. _Inuai said, looking up at her friend. She had to admit, he looked good. He looked like the young man she had dated back during their Hogwart's years.

_What do you mean, you're one of the only ones who can come and go freely?_

_I think it's because I'm half demon. I can't feel my demon side here. _Inuai explained a little hesitantly, still unsure if she was right about this.

_You can't feel your demon side? _Sirius questioned. This was getting to be a little more than what his mind was willing to comprehend.

Inuai looked around for a moment before pointing, _Look! There I am down there! At least, that's the demon me._ Sirius looked where Inuai was pointing and could, in fact, see a growling, red eyed demon just standing on the other side of the Veil. _That's what's keeping me linked to the living world._

_So,if I go with you, I can go back to being alive?_

_I think so. And if not, I made Sesshomaru bring Tenseiga. So, if your body is the only thing that comes out with me, we can still bring you back to life. _Inuai reassured her friend.

_Alright. So, how do we do this? _Sirius asked, still a little unsure of this whole idea.

_Take my hand, and I'll lead you out. As long as there are two of us leaving, there shouldn't be any problems. _Inuai started walking back the way she came. 'At least, I hope it's the way I came.' Before long, she started to feel the tingling sensation and the ghostly fabric drifting over her. But another feeling came to the front of her mind. Sirius' hand was disappearing from her own! As she took the first step back into the chamber, she looked around and noticed a bright orb of light. It pulsed in front of her face a moment before moving to her stomach and disappearing through her body. Inuai quickly turned around thinking the light had gone straight through, only to find it gone. Just then she felt a warmth where her child was and couldn't help but smile.

_Well, this is going to be interesting. _She thought to herself.

AN: Italics without asteriks are thoughts in the real world.

Italics with asteriks is talking in the world of the Veil.

**_Blanket Disclaimer for A Hanyou's Life:_**

I don't own anything you recognize. If I did, I would never have to work again.


	15. The Big News

_Hey, guys. I know I said this chapter would be up soon after the last one, but my father decided to take my notebook. Apparently, he has a fit if he thinks someone's on the computer more than he is._

_Oh, well. Newayz... The next chapter is written and just needs to be typed up and posted. So, I'll hopefully get that done tonight. If not, it'll definitely get done tomorrow. _

_So, for now, sit back, relax, and enjoy._

**Chapter 15**

Inuai laid in bed snuggly wrapped in her mate's arms. _How am I going to explain this one? _

_Just me truthful, chica. He's our mate, and he'll understand._

_Why can't I win with you?_

_Because I'm your voice of reason. The angel on you shoulder, if you will._

_Well, if you're the angel, where's the devil? _Inuai had been wondering about that since her youki had started talking to her when she was a teenager.

_The devil? Oh, that would be you._

Inuai tried to keep her laughter silent so as not to wake her mate, but her shaking body had done it already.

"Are you alright, sivamet?" Legolas asked, concern coloring his voice. When his mate didn't answer him after a few moments, he began to worry that the ritual had had a greater impact on her then she was letting on. "Inuai," he tried again gently.

"I'm okay. Really, I am." Inuai said quickly as she turned to face her mate. Even in the pale moonlight, she could see the worry etched on his face. "I'm sorry." she said softly. Almost so softly that Legolas wouldn't have herd her without his Elvin hearing.

"Sorry? What do you have to be sorry for?" he asked just as softly.

"You've been worrying about me for the past few weeks. Ever since the night in the DOM. That's why I'm sorry." She looked deeply into her mate's eyes, letting him see her love and the truth of what she was about to say. "And I'm also sorry for the secret I've been keeping from you."

The briefest hint of shock flit across Legolas' face before it was gone. "What secret are you talking about, csitri?" he said gently, letting her know that he could never hold anything against her.

"It's about that light that followed me out of the Veil. The one that entered me." Legolas nodded as he remembered back to that night. "Well, that light was Sirius' soul. And, this is just a theory right now, but I think Sirius is the baby."

"You're kidding, right?" Legolas asked, hoping that his mate was just pulling a prank on him.

"I wish I was." Inuai said, no longer able to hold her mate's gaze, afraid of what she would find in his eyes. Legolas gently lifted fer chin so that she had no choice but to look at him. "If we have Sirius as our child, then he will have all the love of two attentive parents, and the type of childhood he didn't get the first time." Inuai nearly broke down in tears hearing those words coming from her mate and seeing the truth of it in his eyes.

"What did I do so right in my life to get you as my mate?" Inuai asked as she pulled her mate in for a kiss.

"Harry!"

Harry turned to see Ron and Hermione running towards him down the corridor. He turned back and started to quickly make his way to anywhere than where he was now.

"Hey, mate." Ron said quite breathlessly as he clapped his friend on the shoulder. "We've been looking everywhere for you."

"We're worried about you, Harry." Hermione added carefully, not wanting to upset her best friend. "All you've done the past few weeks is go to class and the dorms. Even at Quidditch practice, your heart's not in it."

"Yeah, and we've got a game against Slytherin this weekend!" Ron exclaimed, earning him a glare from Hermione.

"Listen, guys, I"m sorry I worried you. But I've just got a lot on my mind, and I need to sort it all out." Harry said looking both of his friends in the eye. "As soon as I get everything figured out, I'll come talk to you, okay?"

Hermione and Ron looked at each other before hesitantly nodding. They both knew that would be the answer they would get, but they had secretly hoped he would tell them what was wrong. So much for that thought. "Come on," Hermione said, "or we'll be late for Muggle Defense."

"Okay, everyone, quiet down!" Inuyasha called out trying to gain some order.

"Thank you, Inuyasha." Inuai said as she stepped up to stand in front of the class. "Alright everyone. There's going to be a slight change to the class for the next few months. Or rather, the teaching of this class." Inuai looked around as the students questioned each other about this new development. "Unfortunately, I have been ordered by my mate to take it easy. So, until further notice, my brothers will be taking over the class."

"Professor?" Lavender spoke up for the gossipers.

"Yes, Miss Brown."

"Why won't you be teaching us?" There were mummers of agreement throughout the room.

"Well, my mate seems to think that just because I'm pregnant, I can't teach a simple class." Inuai said casually, inwardly smiling at the many gasps and squeals of excitement form the students. "But that doesn't mean that you all can slack off, because my brothers are a couple of hard asses!"

A chorus of groans from th students caused Sesshomaru and Inuyasha to get identical evil looks on their faces. "I think that was our cue, dear brother." Inuyasha grinned wickedly.

"Too right you are, brother." Sesshomaru smirked back. Inuai looked between her two brothers before letting her head fall into her hands. This was going to be the longest four months of her life. _Stupid Legolas._

"That was the hardest workout we've ever had!" Ron moaned as he fell onto the couch in the Gryffindor common room. "I seriously hope we don't have to do that much longer. I don't think I can take too much more."

"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, Ron, but Merry will probably be out for _at least _eight months." Hermione said in her informative voice. "She didn't look that far along."

"For once, Hermione, you're wrong." Harry smiled, trying not to laugh at hes friends' looks of shock.

"What do you mean, 'I'm wrong'?" Hermione asked indignantly.

"Well, think about it, Mione. Merry's a hanyou."

"So? She's still half human."

"True, but if you factor in her demon heritage, it's bound to shorten her gestation period." Harry said matter of factly. All Hermione could do was stare gob smacked at her best friend. Since when did he know something that she didn't? "Merry told me about the pregnancy two weeks ago." He smirked.

"Oh!: Hermione exclaimed, turning on her and heading for the portrait hole. No doubt going to the library.

"So," Ron began, speaking up for the first time in the last five minutes, "just how long will Merry be out?"

"Roughly, about four months." Harry replied. Seeing Ron's face fall at that, he quickly added, "at least it's not eight months or longer."

Ron laughed at that and started setting up his chess board. "True. Wanna play a game before we start on our homework?"  
"Yeah."

"Inuyasha! Sesshomaru!" Inuai yelled as soon as they get back to their quarters. "How could you?"

"How could we what, little sis?" Inuyasha smirked.

"I haven't any idea what you're talking about." Sesshomaru replied airily, looking completely bored.

"You can't work them that hard! They're mortals!" Inuai yelled, trying desperately to ignore the urge to strangle her brothers.

"Didn't you, yourself, say that there's a war going on and these children need to be ready?" Sesshomaru said smoothly. Inuai looked indignantly at the older demon before stomping off towards the stairs. Just as she reached the bottom of the stairs, Inuai spun around fixing her brothers with a glare, her eyes momentarily flashing red in anger.

"If you ever even _think_ about working _my_ students that hard again, you'll have your mates to deal with!" she shouted before she rushed up to her room.

"Well, I think tomorrow, we need to ease up on the students." Sesshomaru commented, trying not to imagine Kagura wielding her fans against him.

"Yeah,_ a lot._" Inuyasha said, wincing at the thought of Kagome's spiritual arrow.

"So, where do we go from here?"

"That, I do not know, sivamet." Legolas replied as he held his mate close. She had immediately thrown herself onto the bed upon entering the room. At first, Legolas thought that something had happened at her check up with Madam Pomfrey, but on closer inspection, knew it must have been her brothers, the class,or both, as her eyes were flashing red. He hadn't pressed for details, content that she would tell him when she was calmer. It had taken well over two hours, but she had eventually calmed down enough to talk civilly. "I still don't want you exerting yourself, but I don't want you to let your brothers walk all over you either."

"Well, I don't think we really have to worry about Sesshomaru and Inuyasha anymore." Inuai smirked.

"What did you do?"

"I, uh, kind of threatened them with their mates." Legolas looked at Inuai, who looked rather sheepish, before starting to chuckle. Inuai looked up shocked before she, too, started laughing.

"If only we could've seen their faces!" Legolas managed out between fits of laughter.

"I know!" Inuai laughed as she clung to her mate, trying desperately to stay standing.

"Come here, csitri." Legolas murmured after they had finally calmed down. Inuai sat down next to her mate on their bed, looking at him questioningly. "How about I come to class tomorrow and help your brothers. And for the next couple of months, maybe I could teach them some Elvin fighting techniques."

"I think that would be wonderful." Inuai replied, brushing her fingers over Legolas' cheek. Catching her hand in his, Legolas turned his head to press a kiss to her palm.

"Good. Now that that's out of the way, I'm going to show you just how much I love you."

_**Disclaimer for A Hanyou's Life:**_

_I don't own anything you recognize. If I did, I wouldn't have to work again, ever._


	16. The Big Event

_Hey, guys. I told you I would get this next chapter out quickly and here it is!_

_So, now, sit back, relax, and enjoy!_

_**Chapter 16**_

The next few months had gone by quickly for the residents of Hogwarts. Classes for the 5th and 7th years got a lot harder as O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s got even closer. There was now a three-way war between the females, and a few males, about who was hotter, Inuyasha, Sesshomaru, or Legolas. It didn't matter how many times it was explained or shown that they were off limits, it did nothing to end the war. Of course, the girls vying for Legolas were quieter than the others. Most didn't want to upset the now very pregnant hanyou. Although a few of the bolder girls had found out firsthand what an enraged, hormonal hanyou was like and lived to tell the tale.

As the weeks went by, everyone had started to walk on eggshells around Inuai, not wanting to cause her any stress. Even Dumbledore had stayed clear of her, knowing that she was still upset about Harry staying with the Dursleys.

Legolas had been called back to _Mirkwood _on urgent business a month before so, Inuai had taken over the overseeing of her brothers with her class. Which was where she currently found herself.

Inuai sat quietly at the front of the class as her brothers put the students through their warm-up exercises. _Stupid, dumb, betarded pregnancy. _She thought to herself. She was currently six months along and due any day now. It was only a matter of waiting, but, unfortunately, Inuai was short on any type of patience.

Inuyasha turned around, hearing the disgruntled growl from his twin. "What's the matter? Is the ittle whale tired of sitting around all day, watching the big, strong men do her job?" he asked in his best baby voice.

"I may be pregnant, baka, but I can still kick your ass." Inuai replied with a barely suppressed growl. Inuyasha merely glared at his twin. Whether or not he chose to like it, Inuai was right. And if she chose to bring out their swords, he would definitely lose as Tetsusaiga was no match for Sou'unga in her hands.

"If you two _children _are done with your little staring contest," Sesshomaru said smoothly, "we need to continue with the class before the students suspect something." Inuyasha turned a lovely shade of red, causing most of the girls to start giggling.

The class continued to drag on for a half hour before Inuai started to feel very uncomfortable. "Inuyasha, do me a favor." Inuai said quietly enough so that only the two demons could hear her.

"What is it, sis?" Inuyasha asked, concern creasing his forehead.

"Don't overreact, but my water just broke, and I need you to dismiss the class immediately, if not sooner." Inuai whispered.

"The class is almost over, Inuai. I'm sure you can wait a bit longer." Sesshomaru commented.

"If you don't dismiss this class _right now_, I'm going to scream." Inuai intoned quietly.

"Why on earth would you..." Inuyasha started but was cut off my a blood curdling scream coming from Inuai. "Oh, shit. Ummmm... Class dismissed!!"

"Please head to your dormitories in an orderly fashion." Sesshomaru ordered as stoically as possible, given the circumstances. "Inuai, if you don't stop that infernal screaming this instance, I'm ..." But he never got to finish his sentence, as both Kagura and Kagome came screaming into the room to see what the hell was going on.

"What's going on? Did a student get hurt? Should I get Madam Pomfrey?" Kagome shot off the questions as if she were on a game show of 20 questions.

"Inuai has gone into labor. No and yes." Sesshomaru replied for a still dazed Inuyasha. He and Kagome had been mated for well over 500 years, but he still couldn't fathom how the hell she talked so fast sometimes. "Kagura, my love. I need you to send word to Legolas, as I'm sure he'd want to be here for the birth." Kagura left immediately with just a nod of acknowledgment. Sesshomaru's tone of voice left no room for argument and those in the room knew it.

* * *

As the family got Inuai to the Hospital Wing, Kagura quickly made her way to the owlery. _I just hope Mist will get through to Legolas quickly. _She thought to herself. She knew Mist was the only owl that was able to get through to Mirkwood. No one was quite sure how he did it, and all Inuai would say was that Mist was special. As she rounded the last corner to the owlery, Mist came flying toward her as if he knew he was needed.

"Mist, I was just coming to find you." Kagura said a bit shocked. "I need you to take this message to Legolas. It's imperative that he get it immediately."

The small owl hooted affirmatively before grabbing the message and flying down the corridor. As the owl flew away, Kagura sighed to herself, hoping Mist understood the urgency of the situation, before turning and making her way towards the Hospital Wing. Just as she turned her back, the little owl dissolved into a fine mist before disappearing completely.

* * *

Back in the Hospital Wing

"Inuyasha, I think it would be best if you waited outside." Kagome said as she pushed her mate towards the doors.

"Why? I was only trying to fucking help!" cried the confused hanyou.

"You were trying to drown me, baka!" yelled an enraged hanyou from behind the curtain. Inuyasha looked timidly at the curtain before deciding to make a hasty retreat.

"How is she?"

Inuyasha turned at the question to see Legolas striding purposefully toward the Hospital Wing, with what appeared to be worry etched on his face. "She's got a bit of a temper, but is doing okay. I think she's holding out, waiting for you." he said as he held open the door for the elf.

"Thank you for taking care of her and being here when I couldn't. I'd better get in there." he said warily as a scream issued from within the ward.

Inuyasha winced sympathetically at his brother-in-law before remembering, "Take away her wand!" he yelled. At Legolas' confused look, he explained. "You don't want to be on the receiving end of one of her bludgeoning hexes. Trust me." He winced at the memory.

"Thanks." Legolas replied before going to his mate's side. "I'm here, sivamet." Inuai looked to her mate as the worry was erased from her tired face and replaced by the love shining in her eyes.

"It's about time you got here, young man." Madam Pomfrey bristled. "She should've been pushing ten minutes ago." Legolas looked at his mate, shocked that she had endangered, not only her life, but their unborn child's life as well.

"Sivamet, you must bring our child into the world." he softly commanded. "You should not have been so stubborn to wait for me." Inuai had the decency to look ashamed for her actions and nodded to her mate and to those around her, signifying her readiness.

"Alright. Legolas, you're going to encourage her and help her push." Madam Pomfrey ordered. "Kagome, Kagura, you will help me."

* * *

Most of the students couldn't help but wonder where their Muggle Defense teachers were the next morning. They had never missed a meal in the Great Hall. One, if not all three, made an appearance every meal time. So, it was quite out of the ordinary that none of them showed. Which immediately set the rumor mill a buzz. Many of the stories were so far from the truth without being ridiculous, and the rest were just down right stupid. Only one teen and his two friends had the right idea about the strange absences. And so, right after breakfast, the three friends made their way to the Hospital Wing to see if their hunch was right.

"I'm so glad it's Saturday." Hermione said as the trio walked down the corridor. Harry and Ron looked at their bookworm friend, wondering where she was going with this. "At least we don't have to worry about getting to class on time. What?" she asked, turning around to see why her boys had stopped.

"Do you think he's sleeping?" Ron asked timidly, pointing toward the Hospital Wing doors. Hermione looked and saw Inuyasha sitting against the doors, apparently asleep, with a rusty, old sword leaning against his shoulder.

"Umm, maybe we should come back later when he's not there." Hermione whispered, hoping it wouldn't wake the hanyou.

"Don't bother." Inuyasha said, opening his bright amber eyes to look at the trio. "She's been expecting you." The three teens looked skeptically at each other before shrugging their shoulders and making their way into the Hospital Wing.

They stopped just inside the ward and looked around the larger room. "Looking for someone?" The three teens jumped and spun around to face a laughing Legolas. "Come on, she's in a private room." he said as he led them off to a room by Pomfrey's office. "We're trying to keep this to ourselves for now." he said by way of explanation.

Legolas opened the door to reveal Inuai sitting in a rocker with a bundled blanket in her arms. She looked up at the small gasp from Hermione. Inuai quickly conjured some comfortable chairs and motioned for everyone to sit. "Would you like to see her?" she asked, smiling at the teens.

"You had a little girl?" Hermione nearly squealed. Inuai simply nodded and pulled the blanket from her pup. She had a shock of black hair and two little floppy, black ears on top of her head. But the most shocking feature came when she opened her eyes, they were ice blue.

Harry inhaled sharply at the color of the eyes and fought to keep the tears at bay. _She looks so much like Sirius._ He thought. "What's her name?" he choked out.

"Well, since she looks quite a bit like Sirius, we thought that, with your permission, Harry," Inuai said, resting her hand on the young man's knee, "we would call her Siri Ophelia." Harry could no longer hold back his emotions and let his tears flow freely.

"I'd like that." he said through his tears.

"Oh, and Harry," Legolas started, causing the young man to look at him, "we'd also like you to be her godfather."

Harry looked between the elf and the hanyou for a moment. "I'd be honored." he finally managed. Everyone smiled before Siri was passed to Harry to meet her new godfather.

It was an hour later before Madam Pomfrey came in to shoo the trio out saying that the new parents and baby needed their rest. As everyone was saying their good byes, the headmaster stepped into the room.

"Hello, Headmaster. Is there something we can do for you?" Inuai asked a bit coolly.

"Ah, yes," Dumbledore started uncertainly. "I was just coming by to say that we were planning a feast to celebrate the birth of your little one." he said, leaning over to catch a glimpse of the pup. "So, if you could tell me when you are to be released, I'll get the house elves on it." The twinkle shining brightly from his eyes as he looked at the new family.

"Tell the elves that they can plan the feast for tonight. Then you are to stay away from my pup and family." Inuai said as calmly as possible.

"Very well. Thank you, Inuai." Dumbledore said turning to leave the room.

"One more thing, Albus." Inuai called out, causing the headmaster to stop and turn back. "Harry will be staying with us this summer. He will not be going back to the Dursleys." Dumbledore simply nodded, knowing that Inuai would not be dissuaded.

"Really?" Harry asked, not daring to hope it to be true.

"Yes, Harry. Really." Inuai said softly. "I don't want you to have to go back there ever again."

"Thank you!" Harry cried, hugging Inuai tightly.

"Alright, young man. Off with you now. We'll see you at dinner." Inuai said, wiping a tear from her eye.

_A/N: I know I forgot to put this in last chapter so, I'll put it in here._

_Sivamet – my love; Csitri – Little one or little slip of a girl_

_Both of those endearments are from the Carpathian language and are not mine. They belong to Christine Feehan. She also owns Natalya and Vikirnoff from chapter 13._

_**Disclaimer for A Hanyou's Life:** _

_I don't own anything you recognize. Otherwise, I'd never have to work again._


	17. Trouble Brewing

_Hey, guys. Here's the next installment. I hope you all enjoy it._

**Chapter 17**

"Tonight, this feast is a celebration in honor of a special little girl," Dumbledore called out over the Great Hall. The students were looking around wondering who the headmaster was talking about. "The girl I'm speaking of is Ms. Siri Greenleaf." The Great Hall erupted into chaos. It took a number of loud, almost gunshot-like bangs from Dumbledore's wand before the hall was silent once more. "As you are all now aware of, Professor Greenleaf had her baby. I ask that you all respect Professor Greenleaf's privacy when outside of class. Do not bombard her, asking about the baby or to see the baby. And now, let's eat!"

"I can't believe he actually respected my wishes." Inuai said, a bit shocked by Dumbledore's words.

"He is for now, at least." Inuyasha said sardonically. A few snorts were heard from the rest of the family and a few of the other professors.

Slowly, the happy chatter of the students turned into concerned and somewhat frightened whispers. Harry, Ron, and Hermione couldn't help but stare as Inuai's owl, Mist, came flying in and changed into a human man. He was tall and muscular with shoulder length black hair and eyes as black as coal.

"Oh, wow." Hermione breathed. "He's gorgeous."

"And what am I?" Ron bellowed. As he noticed what he had said and the fact that everyone was now looking at him, he turned the infamous Weasley red and would not meet Hermione's eyes. All Hermione could do was stare at the redhead in shock.

"Ummm... guys." Harry started, shaking the two from the awkward moment. "Something's going on. Look." The trio looked toward the staff table to see Kagura and Kagome leaving with Siri.

"I wonder what's..." But Ron was cut off but the doors opening with a bang, and two men in expensive looking suits and the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, striding towards the head table.

"Where is she, Dumbledore?" Fudge blustered, pushing past the two men.

"I'm not quite sure who you're talking about, Minister." Dumbledore said serenely, his twinkle in full force.

"You know damn well who!" Fudge rallied. "The demon girl!"

"Minister Fudge, I suggest you watch what you say in mixed company." the tall sliver haired man said somewhat angrily. But Fudge didn't seem to hear him.

"There is no 'demon girl' here, Cornelius." McGonagall bit out icily.

"I know she's here, Dumbledore! You cannot hide her forever."

"I assure you, Cornelius, I am not hiding anyone." Dumbledore said calmly. "Now, maybe we should take tis somewhere a bit more quiet. My office, perhaps?" Dumbledore rose from his chair, followed by McGonagall, Inuai, Inuyasha, and Sesshomaru.

"Mr. James. Mr. Gerald." Inuai clipped shortly.

"Ms. Satou, it's so good to see you again." Reginald James replied jovially. He hadn't changed much since the last time she had seen him. Neither had Andrew, much to her displeasure.

"Actually, it's Mrs. Greenleaf now." Inuai commented dryly.

"Ah, yes. I do remember hearing that. Please accept my apologies for the slip." Reginald said, bowing slightly to the young hanyou.

"Of course, sir."

* * *

The group slowly made their way through the corridors in silence. The only sounds to be heard was Fudge muttering under his breath and incessantly turning his lime green bowler in his hands. Presently, and without too many problems (they had to stop and pull Fudge from the trick stair), they came to the gargoyle, which leapt aside aside without an utterance of a password, and into Dumbledore's office.

"Is everyone comfy?" Dumbledore asked from behind his desk once everyone was seated. "Now, I don't believe we've been introduced. I am Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

"Of course. I am Reginald James, the English Tai-Youkai, and this is my assistant, Andrew Gerald."  
"Tai-Youkai? What does that mean and why was I never informed of you?" Fudge blustered, turning red at the thought that Weatherby had not informed him of this 'new' development.

"Mr. Fudge, was it?" Andrew asked condescendingly, looking down his nose at the little red man.

"That's _Minister_ Fudge!"

"Yes, of course. Mr. James, here, is a tai-youkai. He is what would be considered the king of all the youkais in England. And, if memory serves, Sesshomaru-sama is the Japanese tai-youkai. Isn't that correct, sir?" Andrew explained. Sesshomaru merely nodded at the fox youkai.

"But that still doesn't explain what a youkai is!" Fudge yelled, turning redder still.

"Oh, but Minister Fudge, you already know what a youkai is. In fact, you consider us dark creatures." Inuai stated, a feral gleam in her eyes.

"Y-you're not w-werewolves, are you?" Fudge stuttered.

"Werewolves, Cornelius? Heavens no." McGonagall said, inwardly laughing at the look of relief on Fudge's face.

"No, Minister. You consider us the darkest of the dark." Fudge looked confused for a moment before his face paled, and he tried to scoot away from the group, only to run into Inuyasha, who grinned at him, showing off his fangs. Fudge screamed at the sight of fangs so close to his face and ran to hide behind Dumbledore.

"So, you're all d-demons?" Fudge stuttered, looking fearfully around the room.

"I believe that Mr. Takahashi and Mrs. Greenleaf are only half youkai, Cornelius." Dumbledore said reassuringly. "Now, what is all this business about a demon girl?"

"I heard from a very reliable source that there was a demon girl here. I know you're hiding her somewhere." Fudge blustered again. (Doesn't it always seen like he's either blustering or whining?)

"And just what do you plan to do with this demon girl?" Reginald asked patiently.

"Well, put her in Azkaban, of course! We don't want her joining You-Know-Who's ranks."

"You will do no such thing!" Reginald bellowed, standing quickly from his chair to tower over Fudge.

"Of course, I will!" Fudge yelled, standing as well, so as not to look intimidated by the tai-youkai. It only served to make him look ridiculous as he only came up to the youkai's chest. "I'm the Minister of Magic! I can do whatever I want!"

"Mr. James, Cornelius. If you would please sit back down, we can talk this out peacefully." Dumbledore said calmly, standing behind his desk. "Now, Cornelius, you have many examples of demons who are not affiliated with Voldemort in this very room."

"We don't know that for sure, Dumbledore." Fudge said tersely as he finally sat down. "Especially that one." he muttered, pointing toward Inuyasha.

"Nah, I just don't like you." Inuyasha smirked.

"Inuyasha, do sit down and shut up." Sesshomaru said stoically. The hanyou huffed before slumping into a seat.

"So, do you have a name for this demon girl?" McGonagall asked coolly.

"Oh, now what did Weatherby tell me it's name was?" Fudge muttered. "I believe it started with an S."

"Then I believe we are here for the same reason, although I do not wish to incarcerate the child." Reginald spoke up. Fudge looked like he had just smelled something truly atrocious. _How can that demon say that?_ He thought irritably.

"So, what are your plans for the child?" Sesshomaru asked calmly. There was something about that aide that just rubbed him the wrong way.

"Let me assure you, Sesshomaru-sama, that we mean the child no harm." Andrew began. "We only wish to welcome the child into the demon culture and make sure she is brought up according to out customs."

"Excuse me," Inuai spoke up for the first time since entering the office. "but that _child_ just happens to be my daughter. Therefore, _I_will be deciding how she will be brought up. And since she is half elf and elvin royalty, she will be brought up according to their customs."

"And what of her demon heritage?" Reginald asked gently, hoping to sooth any frayed nerves.

"That is for me to decide." Inuai shot. "Now, if you don't mind, I need to go attend to my daughter."

"Mrs. Greenleaf," Andrew said, stepping in front of the hanyou. "I'm sure I speak for everyone here, when I say that we mean you and your family no harm, and we would love to see the little one." He put one his best smile, hoping she would be convinced of his sincerity.

Inuai looked at the expectant faces of Reginald, Fudge, and Dumbledore, who had yet to see Siri. "Fine," she said, "but not tonight."

"Perhaps, tomorrow?" Dumbledore asked hopefully.

"Tomorrow." Inuai relented. "But I will decide when and send someone to get you. Is that understood?"

"Clearly. We will wait for your decision." Dumbledore called out to the siblings' backs as they left the office.

* * *

"So, what happened?" Kagura asked worriedly. Kagome could only stare in shock as her sister-in-law ran up the stairs to their rooms.

"The so-called Minister of Magic intends to throw little Siri into Azkaban." Gasps form the two women met this statement. Sesshomaru rubbed the bridge of his nose, the only outward sign of his aggravation. "He considers demons to be the darkest of all the dark creatures. So, we will all be on his hit list now."

"And what of the two youkais?" Kagome asked absently. She was worried about Inuai. And the fact that her own mate was not yet back, did nothing to calm her already frazzled nerves.

"Ah, yes. Reginald James and Andrew Gerald, the English Tai-Youkai and his lackey. They want to introduce Siri into the demon culture and have her raised according to their customs." he sighed.

"But she's not even full youkai!" Kagura cried indignantly. "So, they should have no say in the matter!"

"Unfortunately, they have some say, but not much." Everyone turned to see Inuai coming back down to the common area, looking dejected, with Siri and Mistoffelees following behind. "She is a ¼ demon. So, in effect, they're say doesn't mean much."

"So, they can tell you how to raise your child?" Kagome asked confused. There were still some things about the demon culture that she didn't know or understand.

"Not exactly," Sesshomaru commented. "I believe all they can really do is check up on her over the years to see if she's being raised by their customs."

"Is that what you would do with us and our children?" Kagome asked interestedly.

"In a way, yes." Sesshomaru answered truthfully. "But I believe they mean to do more."

"Like what?"

"We may not know until they themselves decide." Inuai spoke softly from where she sat feeding Siri in the corner. "We'll probably find out when they come to see her tomorrow."

"What? When will they be here?" Kagura ashed somewhat angrily.

"Do not worry, dear sister. They will only come when I send for them, and Mistoffelees will be their escort." Inuai said, smiling mischievously at the Carpathian standing beside her.

"You're downright evil, you know that, right?" Inuyasha commented as he entered the room.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome cried out, throwing her arms around her mate. "Where have you been? I've been so worried."

"Feh! Legolas and I were following the 'esteemed' visitors to see what they're planning for tomorrow." Inuai looked up sharply at her mate's name.

"Where is he now?" she asked cautiously.

"Said something about a court and that he'd try to hurry." Inuyasha said airily, as if it were no big concern.

"The Elvin Court? Oh, thank Kami." Inuai breathed.

"What's so good about the Elvin court?" Kagura asked curiously.

"Well, Legolas is the Prince of Mirkwood, which makes Siri a princess. So, if the Elvin Court comes and acknowledges her as an heir, our 'esteemed' visitors will have no say whatsoever." Inuai explained happily.

"So, when will they be here?"

"Soon, I hope." Inuai sighed. "But until then, we need to run interference with Reginald and Fudge."

"Any chance to mess with them? I'm in!" Inuyasha called as he led a very sleepy Kagome to bed.

"We're all behind you, little sister." Sesshomaru stated as Kagura gave a determined nod.

"Alright. We start first thing tomorrow."

* * *

"My lord."

"What news do you bring?"

"The hanyou has given birth to a girl."

"And what does this have to do with my plans?"

"The child is elvin royalty. Thus, protected by the whole elvin race."

"It does not matter. My plans will not be altered. Continue as planned."

"Yes, my lord."

* * *

**A/N: **I can't tell you when I'll be able to get the next chapter up as I have a lot of work to do on it, and I need my muse to hit me upside the head to get it all out the way I want it to look. I am not abandoning this fic. I'm just taking a vacation for awhile.

**_Blanket disclaimer for A Hanyou's Life: _**

**_I don't own anything you recognize. If I did, I wouldn't be writing on this site._**


	18. Secrets

**_Hey guys! Here's the next installment. Thank you for being so patient with me while I get this written._**

**_The next chapter is being written as I type so, it should be out soon._**

**_In the meantime, sit back, relax, and enjoy!_**

**Chapter 18**

_A thick miasma covered the area. Nothing moved or made a sound, it was so oppressive. And nothing could permeate the fog that clung to the ground and trees. No matter where you went or turned, you only saw the fog and felt the oppressive aura._

"_What news do you bring of the hanyou, Matsudaira?" the voice drifted out through the fog. It seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere at once._

"_The hanyou's twin has whelped a pup," the other voice, _that must be Matsudaira,_ said, "but she presented it before the Elvin Court before we could do anything."_

"_It changes nothing! I will just kill the pup as well." the first voice spat. "It makes no difference to my plans. Now, just get them back to Japan."_

"_Yes, my lord." Matsudaira replied._

AHLAHLAHLAHL

Kagura shot up in bed with a sheen of sweat glistening on her body. Her heart thundered in her chest as though it had just been released from a vise-like grip. She looked around the room quickly as though she wasn't sure of her surroundings. The dream had felt so real; almost _too_ real for her well-being. And the more she puzzled over the dream and what it could possibly mean, one thing began to make itself very clear. She knew that voice. It was the same voice that had haunted her and held her captive for years. "Naraku."

AHLAHLAHLAHL

"Are you sure that it wasn't just a bad dream?" Inuai asked timidly, already fearing the answer from the looks on her family's faces.

"No, it was not." Sesshomaru said. His voice sounded strained, forced even, as though it was painful for him to talk about it.

"How can you be so sure of it?"

"Inuai," Kagura said softly, reaching for the young hanyou, "why don't we go for a walk, and I'll explain everything."

"What? Are they too afraid to tell me?" Inuai spat out as she stomped to the door.

"Yes and no." Inuai shot Kagura a questioning glance, wondering where this was going. "For one, this is my story to tell, not theirs, and two, it pains Sesshomaru to hear it." Kagura said simply and gently.

"You mean to tell me, that something actually hurts Fluffy?" Inuai asked incredulously.

Kagura chuckled at her sister-in-law. "Unfortunately, yes. But it hurts his pride more than anything." The wind sorceress glanced at Inuai before trying to explain the connection to Naraku. "I know that you've heard about Naraku from your brothers, but they don't know about the inner workings of his mind."

"And that's where you come in." It was more of a statement than a question, but Kagura nodded nonetheless. The look on the hanyou's face gave Kagura pause as if she were holding something back.

"Naraku... he's what you might call a father to me. It's because of him that I'm here." Kagura said softly, an unreadable expression on her face. "But he wasn't a father in any other sense of the word. He sent me to do his dirty work, especially when it concerned Inuyasha or Sesshomaru. And I had to do it even when I wasn't willing to do so."

"But why did you do his bidding when you didn't want to?" Inuai asked confused. The Kagura she knew was strong willed and would never be curtailed into doing something she did not want.

"He held my heart in his hand." Kagura sighed.

"Wait! You loved him?" Inuai cried, shocked at what she was hearing. "But I thought you were Sesshomaru's mate."

"Of course, I am!" Kagura chuckled. "I never said I wasn't."  
"But you said.."

"That Naraku held my heart in his hand?" Kagura finished for the now, throughly confused hanyou.

"Yeah." Inuai said quickly. "I mean, it kinda implies that you loved him."

"No, I didn't. When I say that he had my heart, it's quite literal."

"So, if you tried to defy him?"  
"He'd close his hand around my heart and squeeze until he decided that I had learned my lesson, and then he sent me anyway."

"I can't imagine what that must have been like." Inuai said, looking wide eyed at the woman walking beside her. "How did you do it?"

Kagura smiled wryly at Inuai. "I bided my time. I knew, after one meeting with your brothers, that they would be able to take Naraku down and free me."

"But you weren't the only one of Naraku's 'children', were you?" Inuai asked wisely, taking in the sorrowful expression on Kagura's face.

"No, there were many others, including my sister, Kanna." Kagura said, her voice hitching with emotion. "She was too close to Naraku to be saved." A tear slowly made its way down her cheek.

"I'm so sorry."

"It was her choice to stay. I think... I think she loved him in her own way." A tense silence settled over the two women as the walked along the lake shore. Inuai came to a stop and leaned against a tree, the same tree that she used to sit under with the Marauders, staring out across the lake as the giant squid lounged near the surface. Kagura stopped to look back at the young woman, noticing the melancholy look on her face. "Something's bothering you." she stated.

"Hmmm?"

"There's something bothering you." Kagura said slowly. "Something that you're not telling us."

"It's that youkai Naraku was talking to." Inuai said softly. "I know him."

"So, he is a youkai then. I wondered." Kagura replied thoughtfully. "So, how do you know him?"

Inuai sighed. She had a feeling it would be easier to talk about this with Kagura than anyone else. "We grew up together. I guess you could say we were siblings." At Kagura's expectant look, she continued. "Believe me when I say that there's no love lost between us. He blames Inuyasha and I for the deaths of his family."

"But you were just babies! You're hardly responsible for that fire!"

"You know that, and we know that. And deep down, I think he knows that, but he's not willing to admit it to himself. Because, in his mind, we shouldn't have survived that night because we're hanyous. We're not as strong." Inuai explained. She never took her eyes off the lake. She spoke in a monotone voice as if she were on autopilot.

"You two are proving him wrong all the time," Kagura said knowingly, "and it pisses him off."

"We proved him wrong the night we were born." Inuai said, smirking a bit at the sorceress. "It's always the same. We get hunted down because we're not as strong or too strong. When will it change?"

"I wish I knew that myself." Kagura sighed. She looked up at the majestic castle as the students came pouring out to enjoy one of the first nice days of spring. "Come, we need to head back in. Your class will be starting soon." she said as she turned toward the castle.

"You know who Matsudaira is, did you know?" Inuai stated, turning to look directly at Kagura.

"Are you sure? Because I'm pretty sure I'd remember him if I had met him before." Kagura replied absently as she tried to remember him.

"You've met him before, but by a different name." Inuai said as she pushed herself away from the tree.

"And what name is that?"

"Andrew." Inuai said simply, brushing by the wind sorceress and making her way to the castle.

AHLAHLAHLAHL

"Andrew!" Inuyasha bellowed as he paced in front of the fireplace.

"Inuyasha, please calm down." Kagome said softly, trying to get her mate to sit down.

"That filthy, no good, son of a bitch!"

"If you don't clam down, you're going to wake Siri, and I'll use 'it' on you." Kagome threatened. Inuyasha paled at the threat, but sat down with a disgruntled look on his face.

"So, what do we do about him?" Sesshomaru asked, his mask firmly in place. There was no need to have two tempers flaring right now, and Inuyasha was hot headed enough for the both of them.

"We can't do anything yet." Inuai said softly.

"Whaddya mean, we can't do anything?" Inuyasha yelled, jumping up from where he had been sitting.

"Inuyasha." Kagome growled in warning. The hanyou quickly sat back down, not wishing to be on the receiving end of his mate's wrath.

"He doesn't know that _we_ know he's working with Naraku." Inuai replied calmly. "So, we do nothing to blow the cover off his ruse."

"We act as if we know nothing until he makes a wrong move." Sesshomaru commented sagely.

"Exactly."

"So, how fucking long are we gonna have to wait for this baka to fuck up?" Inuyasha growled impatiently.

"As long as it takes."

"Fine, now can we at least go blow off some steam in classes?" Inuyasha said, making his way toward the door.

"You two go ahead and get the students warmed up," Kagura called out, "we still have something to discuss." Inuai sat back down slowly, an uneasy look on her face.

"Don't be worried," Kagome said calmly, gently laying her hand on Inuai's knee, "we're just curious about your markings."

"My markings?"

"Your markings don't exactly look like your family's." Kagura started.

"How so?" Inuai was confused as to where this conversation was going. _My markings are perfectly normal, right?_

"Well... they're green."

"Yeah. It's no big deal." Inuai said, standing up as though everything was taken care of.

"But why?" Kagome asked, halting the hanyou's progress. "Inuyasha and Sesshomaru's markings are a dark red, almost maroon."

"Well, I am mated to an elf." she said as if that solved it. "Are we done now? Cuz I have a class to get to."

"Just one more thing," Kagura said as she stood up, "more of a favor really."

"What?" she sighed.

"Can we see your mate mark?" Kagome asked, hope shining in her eyes.

"W-w-what?" Inuai stuttered out, her blush deepening on her cheeks.

"If it'll make you feel any better, we'll show you ours."

Inuai sighed and nodded. Kagura and Kagome squealed as they clapped their hands. Kagura turned around and slipped her kimono down enough to reveal the mark just below the base of her neck. It looked like a simple tattoo of a crescent moon around a whirlwind. Kagome lifted up the left side of her shirt to reveal what looked like a new moon with a sacred arrow being shot in front of it.

"Ok, but no comments." Inuai said as she pushed down the right side of her hakama to show the mark on her hip. It reminded the two women of a solar eclipse with the rays coming off the circle, only in negative, and a bright green elvin leaf over the top.

"Thank you, Inuai," Kagura said, "now you'd better get to your class."

"Yeah, you never know what those two bakas are doing right now." Kagome smirked.

AHLAHLAHLAHL

The trio walked slowly back up to Gryffindor Tower. "I thought you said it'd get easier once Merry got back." Ron puffed as he struggled to get his breathing back under control.

"I never said it'd be easier," Harry replied, "I just said it would be better." Ron just stared open-mouthed at his friend before spitting out the password and stomping up to the dorms. It was true that the classes hadn't gotten any easier since Merry had started teaching again, but it was a bit better. Although she didn't let her brothers run them ragged, they weren't allowed to slack off either.

_**Flashback**_

"Alright, ladies and gents. Let's see what you've learned in my absence." Inuai called out to the sixth year class. "And if I feel that you've been slacking, you're in for a really tough couple of weeks."

The class was quickly split up into three groups and sent to work as Inuai made the rounds. "Tighten your grip on that sword!" "Widen that stance!" she shouted out to the students as she continually shot glares at her brothers.

"Okay, that's it for today." Inuai finally called out. "You didn't do too bad, but I didn't see a lot of improvement either. So, next class, you all will be working your butts off until I'm happy with your progress." Groans went up as everyone gathered up their bags and left the classroom. "Harry!" Inuai called out just before the trio stepped out of the room. The green eyed young man turned to look at his professor. "Don't forget." Harry merely nodded, his eyes suspiciously bright, before following his friends.

_**End Flashback**_

"So, Harry," Hermione began, pinning him with a look that dared him to lie to her, "what are you supposed to remember?"

"Huh?" came his elegant reply.

"Before we left, Merry told you 'Don't forget.' What was that about?"

"I'm supposed to meet with her tomorrow morning." Harry said somewhat reluctantly. "She wants to take me before the Elvin Court."

"I thought only her children had to go before the Court." Hermione said absently, trying to remember what she had researched in the library after seeing them in the Great Hall.

"Well," Harry hedged, his cheeks pinking a bit, "she and Legolas want to adopt me."

"Oh, Harry! That's wonderful!" Hermione cried as she threw her arms around him. Harry blushed deeply as he hugged her back awkwardly.

"Yeah, at least I won't have to go back to the Dursley's." Harry grinned. "And Merry's coming to King's Cross with me to tell them that I'm not going back with them ever."

"Harry," Hermione said softly. "Does this mean you won't be staying with the Weasley's before school starts?" Harry looked at his friend, wondering why she would be blushing for asking an innocent question.

"I don't know. I guess it's something I'll have to discuss with Merry."

"Okay." Hermione said a little sadly. "Well, I guess I should go get that essay done for Ancient Runes."

Harry watched as Hermione stepped back a couple of paces before turning on her heel and walking to the stairs leading to the girl's dorms. "Hey, Mione." Hermione turned to face him with a questioning glance. "Could you, um...I mean, would you, er, meet me in the Room in an hour?" he asked.

"Yeah, sure." Hermione smiled, biting her lower lip. _Was he nervous? _She thought as she climbed the stairs to her room. _Why would he nervous?_

AHLAHLAHLAHL

"So, when do you suppose we should tell Ron?" Hermione asked as she looked up at Harry.

"I forgot all about him!" Harry exclaimed, a fearful look on his face. They both knew that Ron had fancied Hermione for years, and they didn't know how he would react to the news that they were a couple.

"How about we tell him about us when you get back from Mirkwood?" Hermione suggested hopefully.

"Okay," Harry grinned, "you'd better get back to the Common Room now, it's almost curfew."

"What about you?" Hermione questioned.

"I'll just stay here. Besides, I think I could use a good night's sleep without Ron's snoring." he said, chuckling a bit.

"Okay," Hermione sighed, heading for the door, "I'll see you tomorrow."

"It'll be okay, Mione." Harry said, grabbing her wrist and turning her to face him. "It might take awhile, but Ron will understand." He brushed a bit of hair out of her face to hook behind her ear as he leaned down to brush his lips over hers. "Night, my Mione."

_**Blanket disclaimer for A Hanyou's Life:** _

_I don't own anything you recognize. If I did, my daughter would be extremely spoiled._


	19. Convos, Convos, and More Convos

_Hey, everybody! I told you it wouldn't take too long before you would have the next chapter and here it is! _

_I know it's a bit shorter than some of the others, but I didn't want to put the finals in until next chapter._

_So, for now, sit back, relax, and enjoy!_

_**Chapter 19**_

"Merry?"

"Yes, Harry?" Inuai said, turning to face her newly adopted son.

The young man stood, shuffling his feet nervously before looking at the hanyou. "Umm, I was wondering if, uh, maybe, er, if it's okay with you and Legolas... if Hermione could maybe come visit me in Mirkwood?" he asked softly. Inuai regarded the young man for a moment. He looked almost frightened as if he expected her to strike him for asking a simple question, his eyes shifting about the room. _Looking for an easy escape._"

Inuai smiled at Harry, trying not to laugh at his nervousness. "Harry, I'm sure there won't be any problem with Hermione coming to Mirkwood. Although, we should talk to Legolas just to make sure." Harry breathed a sigh of relief and smiled up at Inuai.

"Really?"

"Of course!" Inuai replied happily. "But can I ask you just one question?" Harry nodded. "Don't you want to invite Ron, too? I'm sure he'd like some time away from his family."

"Well, I suppose he would, but I don't think he's going to be talking to me much longer." Harry said softly, shuffling his feet which seemed awfully interesting.

"So, you haven't told him yet."

"You know?" Harry asked wide eyed.

"Harry... her scent is all over you." Inuai replied calmly. "We figured it was only a matter of time before you two got together."

"Oh." Harry glanced down, blushing at the thought that they knew.

"Don't worry too much." Inuai said reassuringly. "Ron will be upset for awhile, but he'll get over it. Deep down, he will always be your friend, no matter what."

"Thanks, Merry."

"Anytime, Harry. Now let's go talk to Legolas about your request."

"Alright, everybody!" Inuai called out. "I know you're all stressed about final exams, and you don't think you can handle any more. Unfortunately, you've got a final exam here." Groans went up from the class, the loudest coming from Ron. "The good news is that my exam is purely and entirely practical. Which means, everyone will blow off plenty of steam, and it's going to be a great stress reliever."

"Professor, what's the exam going to consist of?" Hermione piped up from the group.

"Good question. Everyone will be fighting in the style of your choosing. Whatever style you feel comfortable with is the one you should pick. If, however," Inuai said as she walked around the room, "you feel confident in you abilities in more than one fighting style, then, by all means, chose two or all three."

"Will we be fighting against dummies or each other?" a Ravenclaw asked.

"Neither." Inuai said simply.

"But if we're not fighting dummies or each other, who are we fighting?" asked a timid Hufflepuff.

"That's a bit of a surprise." Inuai grinned. As she looked around at the disgruntled looks being shot at her, she sighed. "Alright, alright. We're bringing in a few outsiders for the final. There will be demons, elves, and a couple of your professors."

"Which professors?"

"That is the surprise. You won't know which professors you will be fighting until the day of the final." Inuai said firmly, a note of finality in her voice. "Now, let's get to work!"

The Great Hall was abuzz with rumors and questions about the newly broken up trio. It had all started when Ron came storming in, completely red-faced and a murderous look on his face. Shortly after, Harry and Hermione calmly walked in and, after seeing the look on Ron's face, sat down over at the Ravenclaw table with Luna Lovegood.

What had gone on to split up the Golden Trio? Nobody knew the truth, but everyone had their own ideas. It was very apparent to the residents of Hogwarts that the rift that separated the three friends would not be fixed anytime soon. And no one was brave enough to approach Ron to see what happened.

"Oh, Harry! I'm so happy for you!" Luna shouted out in the silence, causing everyone to turn and look at the strange blond as she hugged the Boy Who Lived. "I always knew this would happen for you."

This only served to fuel the rumor mill further, and the stories began to get even more fanciful. The whispering was soon interrupted as laughter was heard from the staff table. The students looked up to see the Muggle Defense professor laughing uncontrollably with her hand over her mouth. Pretty soon, those around her were laughing as well. The laughter became contagious and spread quickly like wild fire until the whole hall was laughing at the unknown joke.

Twenty minutes later, the Great Hall was silent, everyone looking up at the staff table and waiting expectantly for the punchline to the big joke.

"Professor Greenleaf," Dumbledore called to the still giggling hanyou, "I do believe we're all waiting on pins and needles to hear what was so funny."

"I'm sorry." Inuai replied, wiping tears of mirth from her eyes. "It's just, some of the stories people are coming up with." Another giggle escaped from her before she could suppress it. "I think my favorites are that Harry has found a long lost sibling, brought his parents back from the dead, ooo, or my absolute favorite," she paused to hold back some giggles, "is that poor Harry has gotten both Hermione _and _Luna pregnant."

"Oh, my!" McGonagall exclaimed, looking toward the three students in question. "Mister Potter, Miss Granger and Lovegood, please tell us this isn't true."

"Professor," began a painfully red Hermione, "I can assure you that that is completely and utterly false. I would be willing to go so far as to take a Wizard's Oath to prove that to you."

"That will not be necessary, dear girl." Dumbledore said gently. "I just hope that this teaches all of you a very valuable lesson. That, though you may not mean to, gossip hurts people. So, I suggest from now on, you all watch what you repeat to others as there are extra sensitive ears about." He smiled about the Great Hall, his twinkle ever present in his eyes. "Now, I do believe it's time for you to all disperse, hopefully, to your studies. And remember, finals are in two weeks."

"Harry, has Merry told you who we're going to be fighting for the final?" Ron asked timidly. It had been a week since the big blowout. Ron had eventually come around, but there was still an uneasy tension between the three friends.

"Ron, for the hundredth time, I only know what you do!" Harry said exasperatedly. "I'm sorry, I've just got a lot on my mind." he explained when Ron pulled back in shock.

"It's okay, mate. So, when's your 'special' final?" he asked hoping Harry wouldn't blow up at him again.

"The day after the class final." Harry sighed. He had been training with Merry and her family for most of the year, and now he would have to fight all of them to make sure he would be ready for what lay ahead.

"If you want, you could practice with me." Ron commented softly.

"Really?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, if you're nervous or whatever." he mumbled.

"I'd like that, Ron." Harry said grinning before his face fell. "But I don't want to run the risk of hurting you."

"Hurt me? Harry, what have they been teaching you?!" Ron exclaimed, causing several students to look at him and shot him dirty looks.

"Shhh! Calm down." Harry said, smiling apologetically. He grabbed Ron's wrist and quickly pulled him out of the common room.

"Where are you taking me?"

"To the Room. We can talk privately there."

"Oh." Ron followed along quietly while Harry paced agitatedly making the door appear. "Okay, Harry. What's going on?" he asked as they stepped into the DA room.

"We found out that I'm a wind elemental. So, I've been doing a lot of training with Kagura." Harry explained.

"So, is that the 'power He knows not'?"

"We don't know. But it's something we've got to work with." Harry sighed.

"There's something else you're not telling me, isn't there?" Ron asked quietly, seeing the distress on his friend's face.

"It's one of the techniques Kagura taught me during a training session." Harry said softly. "I don't think I could ever use it." Ron sat quietly knowing that his friend needed to get this out and wouldn't need any unnecessary questions. "It's called the Dance of the Dead. I could only really ever use it during a big battle. But ever since I learned it, all I see when I close my eyes is Sirius and Cedric at the front of the group and all of my friends behind them. It's horrible!"

"Wow." Ron breathed out, his face somewhat pale at what his friend could do. "Well, I can't say that that'll never happen, no matter how much I may want to. But look at it another way. We'll fight beside you and, now it seems, fight _for_ you as long as it takes to bring that bastard down." he said with a look of fierce determination on his face.

"Yeah, maybe." Harry replied absently.

"I mean it, Harry!" Ron said forcibly, shaking his friend until he was looking at him. "We'll be beside you til the very end and after, if need be." Harry looked up at his friend, his eyes vacant, unseeing, as though he was far away. Ton shook him again, calling out his name. Harry blinked quickly to clear away the cobwebs and images that just wouldn't go away.

"I'm sorry, Ron." Harry said softly, sounding very defeated. "I just can't get past the images of everyone as corpses."

"It's okay, mate." Ron said reassuringly, hugging the smaller man to him. "We don't expect you to accept that right away. But you'll see that it's true."

"Thanks," Harry said, leaning away from his friend, "I think I'll be okay."

"Good. Now, let's get you back to the common room before your ... girlfriend misses you." Ron commented, trying not to choke over his words.

"So, what's the plan?" Inuyasha asked irritated. They were currently discussing his favorite subject, Andrew/Matsudaira and Naraku.

"Well, according to Kagura's dream, Matsudaira is supposed to get us back to Japan." Sesshomaru said as he paced about the room, thinking aloud. "But we've seen nor heard anything from him."

"Exactly. Which is why I think we should make his life a little easier." Inuai said as she watched Siri play on the floor.

"How're we gonna do that? Waltz right on over to his house and let him kill us?" Inuyasha snorted.

"Kami, no, baka." Inuai chuckled. "I just think we should go to Japan and take care of Naraku before he gets too powerful."

"Easier said than done." Sesshomaru commented dryly, causing Inuai to shoot him a questioning glance. "He can hide his aura and youki from everyone and change his appearance at will. So, how do you suggest we go about finding him?"

"We let it conveniently slip out that we're going back home for the summer, maybe to take care of some business. I mean, Fluffy's the tai-youkai, he's bound to have certain obligations, right?"

"Well, I have left it up to my generals for the most part." Sesshomaru agreed.

"When Matsudaira hears that we're going back to Japan, he'll jump at the chance to get us to Naraku and out of his way." Inuai said simply. "And if he doesn't, then we still have Kagura's dreams to guide us."  
"You have some ulterior motive for going to Japan." Kagome said, speaking up for the first time that evening. Inuai winced a bit at the accuracy of her words.

"It's just a little side trip."

"To where?" Inuyasha asked, catching on to what his mate was sensing and his sister's nervousness.

"Well, since you're not going to leave me alone about it." Inuai sighed in defeat. "I'm going to see Toutousai about making a sword for Harry ."

"A demon sword for that puny kid! Are you fucking crazy?" Inuyasha cried, startling Siri and making her cry.

Inuai picked up the infant girl and tried to calm her down, glaring her brother the whole time. "In case you haven't noticed, he's a lot stronger than anyone gives him credit for. In fact, I'm willing to bet he's almost as powerful as Dumbledore. But it's people like you that keep him from seeing how truly powerful he is!" she bit out before standing and heading for the stairs, her daughter in her arms. "Good night!"

"Inuyasha! How could you?" Kagome cried in outrage. She quickly got up and followed after Inuai.

"What did I do?" he asked, looking dumb-founded.

"I suggest you figure out a way to apologize, little brother," Sesshomaru smirked, "or you'll be in the dog house for awhile. Come, Kagura, let's retire for the evening." He got up and offered his arm to his mate before throwing over hi shoulder, "Good night, baka."

**_Blanker disclaimer for A Hanyou's Life: _**

**_I don't own anything you recognize. I only own Inuai, Siri, and Mistofflees. _**

**_Well, there you have it, folks. The lastest installment. I hope you enjoyed it! _**

**_The next chapter is going to focus on the final for Muggle Studies and Harry's 'special' final. And should be rather long, I hope._**

**_For now, hit that little button down there and let me know what you think so far. _**

**_Thanks!!_**


	20. Finals

_Hey, guys! I'm happy to share with you my longest chapter ever!! 5,153 words!! Yay me!_

_Well, I was going to write about the class finals as well as Harry's extra finals, but they just didn't want to be written. And I even had a good fight between the Patils and the hanyou twins brewing for it, too! :( Oh, well. _

_I hope you enjoy this installment, it's really a work of love for me to get this updated. _

_And now, without further ado..._

**_Finals_**

"Alright, Harry," Inuai called out. "It's time for your last two finals." Harry looked at her quizzically.

"But I thought I had five exams." he said confused.

"You didn't expect to do all of them in one day, did you?" Inuai asked incredibly. Harry looked down sheepishly. "Harry, we never expected you to re-take the exams you did yesterday."

"Oh."

"Now, we're going to get the hardest one out of the way first."

Harry looked up sharply at those words with fear evident in his eyes. "Ummm... Merry, I don't think I'm ready to do that one yet."

Inuai looked down at her godson sympathetically. "I know you're afraid, Harry. Ron came and told me about your dream. So, we're going to tackle your fear head on." At her words, the door opened to reveal the DA standing in the training room.

"But I can't use the Corpse Dance on them!" Harry exclaimed, clearly frightened to see his friends dead.

"Don't worry, Harry." Inuai said gently, laying her hand on his shoulder. Harry jumped back from the contact as if he had been burned.

"Don't worry? Don't worry!" he yelled. "I have every reason to worry. To use the Corpse Dance, they have to be dead! And I refuse to kill them!" Harry paced agitatedly about the room, clenching and unclenching his fists.

"Harry, calm down. Everyone here knows what's going to happen. They've agreed to help you in any way they can, even if it means dieing." Kagura said softly, joining the conversation. "And you won't be killing your friends, I will."

"And Sesshomaru will have Tenseiga on hand to bring us back." Inuai said quickly, trying to assure the young man that everything had been well thought out.

Harry stopped abruptly and turned to stare at the two women. "Us? What do you mean us?"

"I'm going to allow myself to be killed as well." Inuai said firmly, her tone leaving no room for argument.

"But you said that if I ever have to use this technique, that there would be a lot of Death Eaters. And I know none of you are Death Eaters." Harry said stubbornly.

"You're right, Harry." Inuai said thoughtfully. "Thank you for reminding me." She quickly cast a Sonorous on herself. "RUS! GET YOUR ASS UP HERE AND BRING THE DARK TRIO WITH YOU!"

"That really fucking hurts!" Inuyasha complained making his way into the room.

"It hurts me just as much, baka."

"Umm.. Merry? Who's Rus?" Harry asked timidly.

"You'll find out soon. Now why don't you go with Kagura to start your exam." Inuai said, giving Harry a gentle push toward where the wind sorceress was waiting.

"He's going to freak out, isn't he?" Inuyasha asked, walking beside his twin.

"He might." she allowed. "But if I know my godson, he'll suck it up and do what he knows he must do to end this." At that moment, the door flew open with a bang, making most of the DA jump, and Severus Snape swept through, followed quickly by Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle.

"How dare you call me in such a crude manner and with that ridiculous name?!" Severus snipped out, getting right up in the young hanyou's face.

"Might I remind you, _Rus_, that you have no say in how or what I call you." Inuai growled at the Potions Master. "If it weren't for me, you wouldn't be in the position you are now."

"Fine, let's get this over with." he ground out.

"So, if he does this, will you agree to let him have a demon sword?" Inuai asked, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"I suppose I'll have to." Inuyasha sighed reluctantly. "Besides, I don't think I could do this."

"Good, that means I won't have to pull out a fang while you're sleeping."

"Hey!"

"Kagura!" Inuai called to her sister in law. "Bring Harry over, it's time."

Kagura brought the young wizard over, talking to him about what was going to happen. "You need to come to terms with you friends dieing so, you will not waver during the final battle. So, I'm going to kill them in front of you, and then when you're ready, avenge them by using them against me. Do you understand?" She talked calmly and smoothly, understanding that this was going to be traumatic for him. Harry just nodded meekly, not trusting himself to talk. "Alright, wait here."

Sesshomaru and Kagome watched anxiously from the doorway, hoping nothing would go wrong. Thee demon lord looked down at the fang on his hip. He hoped to everything that was holy that everything would go according to plan and Tenseiga would be able to revive everyone. He noticed Kagome wringing her hands nervously and reached over to grasp her small hand in his, giving it a gentle squeeze. Kagome smiled at him before looking worriedly back at the group of students, her mate and sister in law standing amongst them.

Kagura moved over to stand in front of the group, and unreadable expression on her face. She looked up at her mate as if to reassure herself that he had Tenseiga at his side. Seeing the Sword of Healing, she turned back to the group, releasing her fans from her obi. When was the last time she had used them? Kagura looked carefully over the nervous group of students and professors. She received a small nod from Inuai, giving her the go ahead. She glanced quickly at Harry before taking a deep breath.

"Dance of the Dragon!"

Harry looked on in shock as the tornadoes ripped through the group of his friends. Tears were running freely down his face. _I should have fought harder._ He thought. _If it weren't for that damn prophecy, none of them would have to die for this._

"Harry?"

The green-eyed young man looked up through teary eyes to see Kagome looking down at him, her own eyes filled with unshed tears. He slowly got up from the floor, W_hen did I fall?_, and picked up the ornate fans Kagura had given him for Christmas. Harry looked across the room where Kagura stood stiffly, struggling to keep her mask firmly in place.

"You know what you must do." Kagome's soft voice permeated Harry's grief stricken mind. He nodded slowly, moving automatically over to the group of his now dead friends.

"D-dance of the D-dead." Harry said softly, his voice cracking with emotion. The bodies merely twitched in response.

"Is that the best you've got?!" Kagura shouted out angrily. "Now, do it right and attack me!"

Harry's head snapped up at the animosity in the normally calm woman's voice. "I I can't!"

"Yes, you can!" Kagura screamed. "If you don't, they'll stay dead until you do!"

"Harry," Sesshomaru said calmly but with a tightness to his voice. "They cannot stay in limbo, as they are now, for much longer. If you hesitate too long, I won't be able to revive them."

The young man looked down into the unseeing, lifeless eyes of Hermione. He had to do this for her. Harry quickly steeled his resolve and looked up with an expression of stubborn determination. "Dance of the Dead!" he called out with conviction.

The group rose slowly to their feet, their bodies hanging somewhat limp as though they were being help by a set of strings. _Just like puppets._ Harry shuddered inwardly at the thought. He quickly cleared that thought from his mind and moved into position to attack. He moved his arm as Kagura had taught him and watched as the DA surrounded the wind sorceress.

"Alright, Potter, call them off." Kagura said from amidst the group. Harry quickly released his hold on the group, causing them to drop to the floor. "Sesshomaru, quickly."

The tai-youkai was there before Kagura could finish her entreaty. Harry watched as the youkai seemed to consider which ones to save. He slowly raised the ancient sword, his eyes seemingly focused on something no one else could see, before bringing the sword quickly over the bodies. After what seemed like forever to Harry, people started gasping for breath and blinking their now lively eyes.

"Oh, God, Mione!" Harry cried, hugging the bushy-haired girl to him tightly. He cried brokenly on her shoulder, trying desperately to wrap his mind around the fact that she was really alive.

"Alright, everyone," Inuai called out. She waited until she had everyone's attention. "I want to thank you all for your participation. Now, as you are all covered in blood, you need to follow us to our quarters, where the house elves have graciously prepared a lite lunch and brought up a fresh uniform for all of you. During that time, I ask that you all take the opportunity to talk to Harry. Reassure him that you are alive, because, as you can see, this has really affected him."

The group slowly got up and followed the youkai family to their quarters.

"Rus, that means you and the Dark Trio as well." Inuai said quickly, catching the Slytherins trying to sneak out. "And Rus," Inuai grabbed onto the Potion Master's arm, "make sure you alter their memories of this. I don't want any of this getting back to Moldyshorts." Severus scowled at the inu hanyou, but nodded nonetheless.

* * *

"You trust him to do that?" Inuyasha asked skeptically.

"He'll do it." Inuai said firmly. At Inuyasha's look, she decided to clarify. "He owes me a life debt."

"What did you do to get that?"

"You've heard about the Whomping Willow incident in my fifth year, right?"

"Where Sirius sent the grease ball in with Remus?"

"That's the one."  
"What about it?" Inuyasha asked quizzically.

"Well, doesn't it seem odd to you that Moony didn't go after James and Severus when they escaped?"

"I just figured maybe they stunned him or something like that."

"That probably would have worked if they wouldn't have lost their wands during the scuffle." Inuai said softly.

"I never heard that." Inuyasha said thoughtfully. The two siblings walked on in silence until Inuyasha came to a sudden halt. "That's why he owes you a life debt, isn't it? It's because you were there!" he said, his eyes wide with understanding.

"Yes," Inuai said softly, her head down, trying to hide her emotions. "It was the only way to save them."

"What do you mean?"

"I never had anything to keep my demon blood in check like you did. So, I couldn't let myself get into fights that endangered my life." Inuai didn't look up at Inuyasha, couldn't bring herself to see the look on his face.

"So, how long did it take?" Inuyasha asked, trying to keep his voice calm.

"To fight off Moony or my demon blood?"

"Your demon blood, Inuai." Inuyasha ground out.

"Two weeks."

"Shit! Where's Myouga-jijii when I need him?" Inuyasha swore, causing some passing students to run in terror at the murderous look on the hanyou's face.

"What's Myouga got to do with this?" Inuai asked irritatedly. She remembered the annoying flea demon from their travels through Feudal Japan.

"He told me that if I let my demon blood take over too long, that I would eventually lose myself." Inuyasha explained. "So, it just seems logical that the same thing would happen to you."

"Yeah, I guess."

"Say, sis," Inuyasha began timidly. "has it happened since then?"

"Only once, but it didn't take as long to reign in my demon side." Inuai hurriedly explained.

"When?" Inuyasha demanded.

"When I tried to get Sirius out of the Veil."

"Why the fuck didn't Sesshomaru tell me?"

"Maybe he didn't want you to lose your cool and possibly give in to your demon blood!" Inuai shouted before turning on her heel and storming out of the castle.

* * *

"Merry?"

Inuai turned quickly, her guard up, to face a very worried Harry. "I'm sorry, pup. I didn't sense you there." she said dismissively.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked, moving to sit down beside his mentor. She reached over and put an arm around the young man, pulling him toward her.

"I'm fine, at least I will be." Inuai said. "I'm more worried about you."

"I think I'll be okay." he said wryly. "So, who's Myouga-jijii?"

"Harry, don't ever call him that!" Inuai admonished. Harry sheepishly looked away.

"But that's why he's a rude jerk. You're a sweet kid. I don't ever want you to lose that." she said, sweeping some hair from his face. "So, I take it you heard all that, huh?"

"Yeah, so, does that mean I owe you a life debt, too?" he asked timidly.

"What? No!" Inuai said shocked. "What gave you that idea?"

"Well, Snape... I mean, _Professor_ Snape,"

"Harry, you don't have to call him a professor around me." she smiled down gently at her charge.

"Snape said that his life debt to my father was transferred to me when he died. So, doesn't that mean that his life debt to you transferred to me? Do I owe you my father's life debt?" Harry didn't look at Inuai. He was afraid that she would confirm what had become fact in his mind.

"You don't owe me anything, pup." Inuai said softly. "Your father's life debt died with him."

"But Snape,"

"Snape is wizard through and through so, his life debt has transferred onto you." she explained. "But I was a hanyou long before I was ever a witch so, they don't mean as much to me."

"Oh. So, how old are you?" Harry asked curious. He knew she was older than she looked, but had never gotten up the nerve to ask.

"Well, let's just say I'm older than I look." Inuai said offhandedly.

"How much older?_" _

_Apparently, he's not going to let me off the hook._"A few centuries." she admitted a bit reluctantly.

"So, what? You're 300, 400 years old?"

"How about this, I'll tell you a little bit about my life, and you can try to figure out my age from that. Okay?" Inuai said casually. It was something she wanted to share with the young man, but had never found the time to do.

"Alright." Harry said brightly._ I'm sure Hermione will help me out._ He thought smugly.

"Let's see here..." she said, thinking about what she would tell him. "My father was a great dog demon known as Inu no Taisho. Of course, that wasn't his true name, I don't even think Inuyasha or Sesshomaru know his name." Inuai quickly shrugged it off and turned her gaze back to the setting sun. "My mother, she was human. And her name was Izayoi. She was a princess to the area of Musashi, and, this is where you need to take note," she gently nudged Harry as she said this, "to signify her rank, she wore twelve layers of kimono."

"Twelve layers of kimono." Harry said absently. "What did she look like?"

Inuai looked wistful for a moment before looking down at the young man. "She was beautiful. They tell me that I look exactly like her on my..human..night." she said trailing off at the end.

Harry looked up when she didn't say anything further. "Merry?" He tentatively reached out to the hanyou. Inuai turned wide, almost scared eyes to him, causing Harry to squirm uncomfortably._ Was it something I said?_

"Alright, pup, we need to get back up to the castle, now." she said, trying to keep her voice calm even as she jumped to her feet.

"But it's not curfew yet, and I thought," Harry began, but was quickly interrupted as he was roughfully dragged to his feet.

"Come on, pup!" Inuai called gruffly as she practically pulled the young man through the Forbidden Forest and across the immense lawn. "We don't have a lot of time!"

"But what's the hurry?" Harry called out from behind, where he had fallen.

"Harry, our family has a lot of enemies, and we can't afford to let them know our secrets." Inuai said quickly, still pulling him toward the castle. "Now, come on! I'll explain more when we get inside."

As they were halfway across the immense lawn, a crack of thunder issued from the sky moments before the clouds opened up to release a torrent of rain, effectively drenching the duo. Inuai looked up defeated into the pounding rain. "Et tu, Kami? Et tu?" she cried out. "Come on, pup, let's get going before we drown." They ran the rest of the way, pausing only long enough to pull open the heavy oak doors. Once inside, Inuai shook all the excess water from her body.

"Whoa! Whoa!" Harry cried, holding his hands up to shield himself from the onslaught of water.

"Sorry, pup."

"You know, you really reminded me of a dog just now." he said, smirking playfully.

"I should take that as an insult." Inuai chuckled lightly. "But since I'm inu hanyou, I won't hold it against you."

Harry looked up questionably. "Inu hanyou?"

"Half _dog _demon, pup. Now, let's get into some drier clothes, and we can continue your 'history' lesson." she said, clapping the young man on the shoulder and steering him towards her quarters.

* * *

"Hey, Inuyasha!" Inuai called out as she and Harry came through the door. "You got some extra clothes Harry can borrow?"

"Yeah, I'm sure I can scrounge up something." the surly hanyou-turned-human growled, standing up from his spot by Kagome. "Come on, pup. By the way, you're fucking late."

"I know, baka, it's also fucking raining!" Inuai yelled as the two males climbed the stairs to Inuyasha and Kagome's rooms.

"So, Inuai," Kagome started timidly. She really didn't want to rile her up. "Are you going to wear your mother's kimono tonight?"

Inuai turned around to grin at her sister in law. "Would it be a new moon if I didn't? Come on, you can help me." Kagome grinned happily, jumping up to help. Kagura smiled at her family's antics before following the two women into Inuai's rooms.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, the three women came down the stairs to the common area. Kagura was wearing the kimono she had worn during the hunt for the jewel shards. Kagome was in her miko robes, and Inuai, dressed in the twelve layers of kimono, looked like a mirror image of Izayoi. "A-are those your fire rat robes?" Inuai asked shocked.

"Yeah, they look pretty good on him, huh?"

"But you _never_ let anyone wear them but you!"

"Normally, I wouldn't let him wear 'em, but these sweats are just so damn comfy!" Inuyasha explained, pulling at his sweatshirt to prove his point. "Besides, he might need them someday, might as well get used to 'em now."

Inuai just stood there, gobsmacked. _He's giving Harry his fire rat robes? _"O-okay." she said softly. She moved over towards the fireplace motioning Harry to follow. "Those robes fit you well. I didn't realize you had frown so much this year." she commented as they sat down in front of the fire. Harry blushed, sitting down beside the hanyou, noticing the books clutched tightly in her hands.

"What're those?" he asked carefully, pointing to the books.

"Huh? Oh, these." Inuai said absently as though she were thinking of something else. "They're full of memories from my life."

"Memories?"

"Ah, allow me to show you." she grinned, opening the book entitled 'Hogwarts'. The first page showed the Hogwart's crest, followed by a still photo of the Great Hall with a group of first years waiting to be sorted. "This is a creation that your mother and I came up with. With the right charm, I can make them move, but it's only a few actions. It doesn't show everything that happened. So, Lily and I came up with a way to make them into more of a pensieve-like memory." she explained, as Harry continued to look more and more confused. "Here, five me your hand, and I'll show you."

As soon as she had a firm grip on Harry's hand, she waved her hand over the album before laying her index finger on the photo. The duo were immediately pulled into the scene in the Great Hall.

"_This is the first time I met Sirius." _Inuai whispered to Harry. _"That's your mother and I standing up at the front."_

It was easy enough to spot the hanyou as her sliver hair stood out like a beacon amongst the black robes. Harry watched as McGonagall unrolled her scroll and had just started to call the first name, when something exploded. Everybody scattered from the area, trying to cover their noses from the smell, leaving a black haired boy standing before the prone body of a sliver haired girl. _"A dung bomb courtesy of Sirius and James." _Inuai said softly as the scene slowly faded from sight.

"_What happened?"_ Harry asked, looking around at the expanse of darkness.

"_That was the end of the photo." _she explained. _"We can either wait for the next photo to start, or we can leave and pick another photo."_

"_How long would it take to go through this whole album?"_

"_I'm not sure." _Inuai said thoughtfully. _"I've never sat through the whole album, but I figure it'd take a really long time because it covers all seven years."_

"_Oh." _Harry said dejectedly. He looked around for another minute before brightening a bit. _"Do you have a favorite photo?"_

Inuai looked down at the young man, his eyes shining hopefully. _"I've got a few favorites, but I've got a couple I think you'll really like." _she said, holding out her hand for him. All too soon, they were back in the common room surrounded by Inuai's family. She quickly shut the Hogwarts album and pulled an untitled album toward her. She flipped through the pages until she came to a photo of the Hospital Wing. "You ready?" Harry rook her hand tentatively, moments before they were pulled into the album.

Harry looked curiously around the Hospital Wing. Sure, he had been in the place more times than he would've liked, but he'd never gotten the chance to look around. It was peaceful at the moment, not yet quite dawn. The first few rays were barely peaking over horizon. The quiet of the room was broken seconds later as the doors flew open and James came flying through. "Poppy!" he called frantically.

The mediwitch came bolting from her office, a bit of tea spilled down her front. "James? What on Earth is the matter?" she asked worriedly.

"It's Lily!" He looked frantic and panicked. "Sirius is helping her up."

"Well, go help him!" Poppy cried, shooing the young man to the doors. "I'll get everything ready."

The scene seemed to blur for a minute before clearing to show a very pregnant Lily on one of the many beds. James was beside her, his hand holding onto hers, trying desperately to keep her calm, but nothing seemed to be working. "Lily, you need to calm down. This can't be good for the baby." Unfortunately, this only served to upset the redhead even further.

"It's too early, Jamie." Lily sobbed. Her body shook with each shuddered breath as she tried to stop crying.

"_I was early?"_ Harry asked, shocked that nobody had told him before.

"_Only by a month." _Inuai said softly. Harry could see unshed tears hanging in her eyes. _"You were always full of surprises."_

"Where's Merry?" Lily cried, the panic showing clearly on her face. "You sent for her, didn't you? Jamie, please tell me you did."

"Of course, I did, Lil." James said, trying anything to get her to remain somewhat calm. "She'll be here soon."

At that moment, the doors flew open again to admit the subject of their discussion. "Merry!" Lily cried out, relief flooding her face.

"The one and only." Inuai said as she hugged her. "It's a good thing I had Mist watching over you two, or I might've never known." She hugged James tightly as she said this, hoping he caught the hint.

"Jamie!"

"I was just going to have Sirius get a hold of her." he said sheepishly. Lily looked at her husband incredulously before another pain hit her, and she cried out in pain.

"Poppy?" the hanyou asked as the mediwitch hurried over. "What's going on? What's wrong with her?"

"Everything's perfectly fine." Poppy commented, transfiguring Lily's clothes into a robe. "She's merely in labor."

"_We might want to move now."_ Inuai said quickly pulling Harry to the side of the bed.

"_But I want to know what's going on."_ Harry replied stubbornly. He tried to move back to the foot of the bed, but Inuai held him firmly in place.

"_Trust me, you don't want to see your mother in that light."_ she said solemnly. Harry looked puzzled, but remained where he was, tuning back into the scene before him.

James had moved Lily's left side while Inuai had stayed where she was on the right. Lily was sweating from the pain issuing from her abdomen.

"She's ready now. James, Inuai, you need to help her push. I don't think she has a lot of strength left. Lily, darling, I need you to push now." Poppy said gently, looking at each person in turn.

"Get this kid outta me!" Lily screamed as another pain ripped through her.

Poppy looked up from her spot between Lily's legs, a small, amused smile on her face. "That's what we're trying to do." she said, chuckling lightly before going back to what she was doing.

"Lily, darling, you need to do as Poppy says and push." James said quickly.

"Don't talk to me, James! This is all your fault!"

"Lil, push! Now!" Inuai said tersely, a commanding tone to her voice. The redhead nodded and began to bear down, pushing with all her might.

The scene blurred again, and Harry figured it was kind of like fast forwarding through the memory. When the scene cleared once more, a baby's cry rang out. Harry turned quickly to see Madam Pomfrey placing a bluish purple, slimy_ thing_ on Lily's stomach. "Congratulations, dears. It's a boy!" she exclaimed.

"_That thing is me?!_" Harry asked incredulously.

"_Of course!_" Inuai laughed._ "You didn't think you came out looking all perfect, did you?_"

"_Well, maybe." _Harry tried to mumble under his breath, but Inuai caught it, causing her to laugh even harder.

"Have you decided on a name yet?" Poppy asked as she vanished her instruments from the area. The new parents blushed a bit as they shook their heads.

"We thought we would have more time, so we hadn't talked about names." Lily said sheepishly.

"That's quite alright, dears." Poppy said, sending them an endearing smile. "I'll leave you alone so you can bond with your baby." She slipped quietly from the room, reluctantly letting Sirius in.

"I think we should name him after me." James said proudly, puffing his chest out at his proclamation.

"Another _you_ running around?" Lily said, her eyes wide at the implications. "I don't think so!"

"Come on, Lily." Sirius whined on behalf of his friend.

"How about this?" Inuai said, holding up her hands to delay the fight waiting to happen. "You cam make James his middle name."

Lily and James looked at each other for a moment before smiling and nodding. "But what about his first name?"

"Well, since James got the middle name, it only stands to reason that Lily should get the first name." Everyone turned shocked faces toward Sirius. "What? Can't I be serious sometimes?" he asked.

"Aren't you always Sirius?" James teased. It had been a running joke for years, but it was the first time Sirius hadn't delivered the punchline.

"Ha, ha. Very funny, Prongs."

"He's right, though." Lily stated softly. "I should get to chose his first name."

"Alright, Lily. What do you want to call him?" James said lovingly.

"Well, there was this magician that I absolutely loved as a child. His name was Harry."

"Harry James Potter." James said, trying it on for size. "I love it." Lily smiled up at her husband.

"Me, too."

"Alright, I think both of you need to leave now." James said sternly. "I want to spend some time with my new son and my Lily Flower."

The scene faded away to darkness. Inuai looked over to see tears coursing down Harry's face. She walked over to the young man, wrapping her arms around him. As she let him cry on her shoulder, Inuai ended the spell and brought them back to the common room.

"I'm sorry, Merry." Harry said softly, pulling out of the embrace.

"No, you have nothing to be sorry for." Inuai said quickly, wiping her own eyes thought they remained suspiciously bright. "I should've known that it would've upset you."

"No, I'm glad you showed me that!" Harry shouted, making her look at him. "I'm just sorry I cried on you."

"You're sorry that you cried on me?" Inuai asked incredulously. She looked at the blushing young man in front of her before starting to chuckle.

"Yeah." Harry said, chuckling himself. The chuckles soon led to full blown laughter, causing them both to hold their stomachs as their sides began to ache.

"I haven't laughed that hard since the last time all the Marauders got together." Inuai said, trying to calm down after her laughing fit.

"I don't remember the last time I laughed like that." Harry said softly.

"How about we have another good laugh?" she asked mischievously as she opened up and album titled _Our Wedding._

"Which one are we going to see this time?" he asked with interest.

"Your dad and Sirius got into a drinking contest at our reception, would you like to see it?"

"Yeah!" Harry said excitedly.

_A/N: The bit with Lily wanting the kid outta her, I actually said that when my daughter was born, and Poppy's words came right out of my doctor's mouth._

**_Blanket disclaimer for A Hanyou's Life:_**

**_I don't own anything you recognize. If I did, do you think I'd be writing fanfiction?_**

**_If you like it, please let me know. Hit that lonely little button down there._**


	21. Japan

_Hey, guys! Thank you for being so patient while I got this chapter out._

_I can't tell you when the next chapter will be out, but I will try to get it out soon. _

_So, for now, sit back, relax, and enjoy!_

**Chapter 21**

Everyone sat around the campfire, the same irritated expression on their faces. They had been scouring Japan for two weeks and there wasn't any sign of Naraku. Not even the people had any feelings of unease or terror from the evil hanyou.

Inuyasha sat just outside the light of the campfire, sharpening Tetsusaiga with his claws, his ears twitching at every little sound. He knew that bastard was out there somewhere, the question was where. A faint noise from the northeast brought his head up quickly. Inuyasha took a couple of experimental sniffs before alerting the rest of the group. "We got some company."

"Friend or foe?" Inuai asked warily. She looked back to where Sou'unga rested against a tree.

"Friend... with possible foe." Inuyasha said cryptically, looking toward the sky. As they looked up, they saw a few spots of flames coming closer.

"Kirara!" Kagome called, waving at the fire cat youkai.

"What the fuck are you doing, wench?" Inuyasha yelled as he grabbed her arms to keep her still.

"It's Kirara!"

"But we don't know who's with her!"

"If they're with Kirara, they've got to be good." she argued. "She wouldn't bring them with her if they weren't."

"While the miko makes a good point," Sesshomaru commented, looking between the mates, "I have to agree with Inuyasha."

"What?" Kagome said shocked, turning toward her brother in law.

"Guys, we can discuss this later. We need to be on our guard." Inuai said, joining the group after getting Sou'unga. They watched silently as Kirara landed in a clearing a short ways from the camp. The siblings looked around cautiously, each one tensing in anticipation. The minutes seemed to drag on as they waited for Kirara and her passenger to make their appearance.

Everyone turned as the bushes started to rustle before Kirara came bounding into the campsite, a young woman walking meekly behind her.

"Kirara!" Kagome cried happily as the neko youkai jumped into her arms. "Whose your friend?"

"Mew!"

The girl stood nervously at the edge of the campsite, studiously looking everywhere but at the group before her. Kirara jumped out of Kagome's arms and rubbed up against the girl's legs, as though that one simple act would give her the courage to do what they came to do.

"Umm... hi." she said quietly. She raised her head just enough to look through her bangs.

"Wait,... I know you." Inuai said softly, a look of dawning recognition on her face. The girl looked up, shocked. "You were at my wedding, weren't you?" The girl nodded a bit reluctantly.

"I was the one with Shippou." she said softly, a slight tremor in her voice.

"I thought so. But I can't recall your name." Inuai commented, thinking back to that day.

"It's Mae, at least that's what everyone calls me."

"What's your real name then?"

"It's Aria." Mae said, an embarrassed flush coloring her cheeks.

"Alright, Mae. So, why did you come to see us and what's your connection to Kirara?" Kagome asked softly, a friendly smile on her face. She walked over to her to put a comforting arm around her shoulders, but Mae shied back from her.

"Sorry, I... I just don't like people touching me." she said apologetically. She looked around the campsite before taking a deep breath to steel her resolve. "I know where Naraku is, and I'm here to take you to him."

"Wait, you're here on Naraku's orders!" Kagura froze at Inuyasha's words. _He's strong enough to create offspring again? _She was terrified at the implications. However, she wasn't the only one with those thoughts in mind.

"No!" Mae denied. "I would never disgrace my ancestors by working for that monster!"

"Then how do you know where he is?" Sesshomaru asked suspiciously. If she wasn't working for the bastard, just what was her angle?

"I've been following him." she said softly, sitting down near the fire. "He's not very strong, always possessing different demons. Trying to gain more power, to get stronger."

"And he hasn't noticed you?" Kagura asked in disbelief. No matter how weak Naraku was, surely he would've picked up her scent by now.

"No, which makes me nervous."

"Maybe we should think this through before we just up and attack the bastard." Sesshomaru commented.

"What the fuck do you mean?" Inuyasha bellowed. "Let's destroy the fucker now when he's weak!"

"Inuyasha, I understand how you feel, but we can't run into this head first." Inuai explained gently. "We don't know if he's truly weak or just playing opossum."

"So, what are we going to do?" Kagura asked.

"Yes, surely, you have some sort of a plan." Sesshomaru commented.

"Of course, I have a plan, and don't call me Shirley." Inuai grinned mischievously before turning serious, although she didn't lose the mischievous glint in her eyes. "Okay, here's the plan."

Inuai walked toward the clearing Mae had told her about. From what she had said, Naraku would often lure his victims to this very clearing to either possess or absorb them. The plan was very different from what Mae knew. They just didn't want to be caught in the same trap as Inuyasha and Kikyou.

A twig snapping in the distance brought the hanyou to an abrupt stop. She looked around slowly, sniffing the air for any different scents. _Ah, there he is._ She thought. It was the same scent she had cataloged at the crater.

A man in a baboon pelt waked slowly into the clearing, checking for any signs of intruders. Inuai sat just out of sight in a tree, watching and taking stock of everything around her. Naraku paced slowly about the clearing. _Who is he waiting for?_ Inuai thought to herself.

Just then, another figure stepped out from the tree line. He looked very familiar to the young hanyou, but she just couldn't place him. His scent didn't come to her as the wind shifted, placing her upwind from the evil hanyou. _Shit!_ Inuai quickly moved to another tree where her own scent wouldn't be picked up.

"What news do you bring of the hanyou and his family?" Naraku asked.

"They're all in Japan, as promised." the other man replied, giving a slight bow. _Just who was this guy?_

"Good, good. And the girl has done her part?"

"Yes, I made sure there were no questions about her loyalty." he said. _That voice! I know that voice!_

"And are they planning their attack?" Naraku asked impatiently. He had begun to pace once more.

"Yes, sir. And they're planning to use the girl."

"Very well. I shall be ready for them. Thank you, Matsudaira. My loyal servant." _Matsudaira! That dirty, rotten... Jackass!_

"It's a trap." Inuai informed her family later that day.

"So, he's using Mae for his own devious plans."

"Do you think Kirara knows?" Kagome asked worriedly, her hands wringing in front of her.

"No, I don't believe so." Inuai said sadly. "I don't even think Mae knows she's being used by Naraku."

"What do you mean by that?" Kagura asked.

"Well, she wasn't at the meeting, and she didn't act like she was in on the plan." Inuai explained. "I think Matsudaira has something to do with it."

"So, how are we going to find out if Kirara knows anything? It's not like we can just come right out and ask while Mae is around." Inuyasha ground out.

"Well, she was with Shippou at my wedding. So, why don't we include him."

"Yeah, we could have him take her for a walk, maybe to catch up with her. And while they're off together, we could question Kirara." Kagome said happily.

"It sounds plausible." Sesshomaru considered. "Just who's going to go get the runt of a fox?"

"Is that hostility I hear, Fluffy?" Inuai teased.

"He hasn't liked Shippou since he took Rin as his mate." Kagura supplied, glancing over at her scowling mate.

"I see. Well, I guess I'll go get him then."

Inuai stood nervously, looking toward the massive house on the hill. A bunch of kids were running around the whole place, of all different ages. She smiled wistfully before heading up to the house.

"Hi!" she said brightly to a little girl sitting on the front porch, playing with a doll.

"Hi." she replied shyly. Inuai sat down beside the girl.

"My name's Inuai."

"I'm Konali."

"That's a really pretty name. I wonder if you can help me with something." Inuai said gently.

"I don't know. My brothers say I'm not good for anything." Konali said miserably.

"I don't think that. In fact, I'm pretty sure you can help me better than anyone else here."

"Really?" Konali looked up and grinned as Inuai nodded. She was missing a couple of teeth and had the cutest dimples Inuai had seen to date.

"I'm looking for someone, a man named Shippou Kissune." Inuai said, smiling at the red haired girl.

"Shippou Kissune?" Konali looked like she was thinking really hard, her eyes squeezed tightly shut and her tongue sticking out at an odd angle. Her eyes suddenly popped open. "I know him!"

"You do?"

"Yeah! He's my great-grandpa!" _Great-grandpa? _Inuai thought, trying to hide the shock from her face. "Come on, I'll take you to him!" Konali grabbed Inuai's hand and started dragging her excitedly around to the back of the house.

Inuai couldn't help but laugh at the child's exuberance as she weaved through the people milling about and calling for Great-grandpa Shippou.

"Konali?" a worried voice called out from the left.

"Great-grandpa!" Konali yelled as she launched herself at the familiar kitsune.

"What's got you in such a tizzy?" he asked. "Your brothers aren't teasing you, are they?" He sent a disapproving glare toward the boys in question.

"No! There's someone here to see you." Konali said cheerfully, a hint of pride in her voice. "I brought 'em!"

"Oh! Well, I'd better see what they want then, shouldn't I?" He set Konali down gently and watched fondly as she ran off to play with her cousins. "So, what can I do for you," Shippou asked turning to face Inuai, "Inuyasha?"

Inuai laughed at the stunned look on the kitsune's face. "Umm, last time I checked, he didn't have these." she laughed, grabbing her boobs to emphasize her point.

"Right, right. Let's go inside so, we can talk freely. Shall we?" Shippou led Inuai into the house and to his study. "So, what brings you to my lovely home, Merry?"

"So, Naraku's using Mae?" Shippou called over the wind as they flew over the ground.

"Yeah, so, if you can find out anything from her, it would help out a heckuva lot!" Inuai called back. "Left!"

"I thought you said you were near the crater!"

"We were!" Inuai shouted as she shifted direction once again. "We're meeting Mae and Kirara at their place!"

Inuai and Shippou stopped before the small town, not wanting to draw any unwanted attention. "So, how much further are we going?" Shippou asked after awhile.

"You're not getting tired, are ya, runt?" Inuai teased.

"Hell, no!" he cried indignantly. "I just haven't run like that in awhile."

"Whatever, pansy-ass. We're almost there."

"She lives in the heart of the city?" Shippou asked suddenly finding his surroundings very familiar.

"Yeah. This used to be.."

"The demon-slayers village." he finished for her. "How's Inuyasha going to blend in?"

"You forget that one of us is a witch. A simple glamour will cover up his ears nicely." Inuai grinned.

"What about you? I can still see your ears!" he exclaimed somewhat alarmed.

"They're under a glamour, but you've seen them before so the glamour doesn't affect you." Inuai explained. "It'll be the same when you see Inuyasha."

"Oh." They soon turned onto a tree covered lane, the sakura trees along both sides were dropping their flowers making the walk seem very surreal. At the end of the street stood a small two-story house that looked as though it had been there for many years, the small forest behind was slowly creeping up as if to take it back into it's bosom.

Inuyasha and Sesshomaru stood outside waiting for the two, the former pacing agitatedly in front. "Took you fucking long enough!" he snarled as they came up the walk.

"Why the hell did you take off your glamour?" Inuai yelled, getting into her brother's face.

"It wasn't like I wanted to!"

"Then what the fuck happened?" she yelled, frustrated at the situation.

Inuyasha was looking anywhere but at his sister. "It itched." he mumbled.

"I told you it would." Inuai said calmly. "Here, let me reapply it for you. Shippou, you need to get Mae away for awhile."

"Nothing."

"Then they both don't know. Crap." Inuai paced quickly about the kitsune's study.

"So, what now?" Inuyasha growled. "I say we attack the bastard now before he gets too strong."

"No, not yet." Sesshomaru said calmly, pushing himself away from the wall. "He's expecting us to hunt him down and attack him on his turf."

"What're you saying, bastard? That we just sit back and wait for him to come to us?"

"Exactly." he smirked. "We give him a little taste of what he's done to us."

"We send in our own spy." Kagome said catching on.

"Right. Inuai, get your owl."

**_Blanket disclaimer for A Hanyou's Life: _**

**_I own nothing you recognize from Harry Potter or Inuyasha. I'm just taking them out for a wild ride._**


	22. Narku's Final Attempt at Life and Death

Hey, everybody!!! I'm sorry it has taken me so long to update this, and I'm not going to make any excuses for it.

Newayz... I'm sorry to inform you that I'm going to be taking a bit of a vacation from this story. No, I am not going to abandon it. I have no intentions of never coming back. However, I do have another story in my head trying desperately to come out, so I'm going to devote all my time to that one for awhile. I can't tell you whether or not I will ever post it online, but for right now, it is priority.

Now, that that is taken care of, enjoy this installment and let me know what you think.

**Chapter 22**

Naraku walked through the trees, deep in thought. Ever since his rebirth, his thoughts all seemed to center on one person. And for once, it wasn't that insufferable hanyou, Inuyasha. No, it was the enigma known as Matsudaira. Just what were his motivations? Why did he help him regain his body? These were just some of the questions surrounding this mysterious youkai.

He had a sick obsession with the hanyou and his family, but if Matsudaira wanted them destroyed, why not just do it himself? Why bring back someone who had been taken out by them before? It made no sense, unless... "He's using me for his own means." Naraku spoke aloud, as if speaking it made it true.

But he seems so loyal. Whatever had been asked of him, had been done to perfection. Was that his cover? To make him seem inconspicuous? From what Naraku had found out from his informants, Matsudaira was an underling for the English tai-youkai. Which just seemed to confirm the theory. But why?

A slight breeze brought an intriguing scent to the hanyou, causing him to stop and decipher whether this was some new threat to him or a possible new ally._Hmmm.... Not human, but not youkai either. And certainly not hanyou. This new scent has certainly peaked my interest. _He stopped to await this new entity as the scent got stronger.

"You are the one called Naraku, are you not?" a voice as smooth as velvet asked. Naraku turned toward the voice coming face to face with a tall, broad shouldered man. He was dressed all in black, his shoulder length hair and fathomless eyes reflected the color, giving him an air of danger. He looked down at Naraku, making the hanyou feel like the prey for this predator.

Naraku nodded carefully, not wanting to find out what it was like to be on the receiving end of his ire. And maybe, just maybe, if he played his cards right, he would find an ally in this man.

"And this is your domain?" he asked, a slight edge to his voice. Naraku could feel the slight compulsion his voice held, but could do nothing to break it.

"Yes." he replied warily. _Just what was this stranger getting at?_

"Then perhaps, you can tell me, why the hell you've let that hanyou bitch survive this long?" Fire shone fiercely in the man's eyes. Naraku took an involuntary step back at the hatred rolling off the man in waves.

"Why do you have such a vested interest in her? What wrong has she committed?" Naraku asked, a calculating look on his face.

"Do you defend her?" the man snarled. He bared his teeth at the hanyou, his fangs glinting in the moonlight. The sight made Naraku reconsider his earlier assessment of the man's origins.

"Believe me, when I say that I do not defend anyone who travels with Inuyasha and his ilk." Naraku said fiercely, daring the man to refute his words.

"I'm here on behalf of my people, the Carpathians. According to our laws, she is to be hunted and killed for what she has done." he said simply.

"And what exactly has she done, if I may be so bold?" Naraku asked in a somewhat bored voice. He was not interested in this man's problems at all, but the compulsion in the words would not let him walk away.

"She has decimated our race's chances of survival, by killing our women. Without our women, we are as good as gone. They are the light to our darkness. Without them, we would be extinct."

"So, you expect _me_to rid you of this threat to your people? I already have someone who expects me to do their dirty work. Go find someone else." Naraku scoffed. It was completely laughable that this inferior being was expecting him, Naraku, to avenge his people.

"No, but she never leaves the safety of her family. I've heard report that you intend to dispose of the brothers." The man looked to Naraku for confirmation. "All I ask is that you help me get them apart from each other so we can destroy them."

"And how do you propose we separate the bitch from her brothers?" Naraku was truly interested now. He had been contemplating how to get rid of Inuyasha and his family with the new, and unknown to him, member. Now, he might have someone to take care of this little hitch in his plans.

"We must attack simultaneously. By dong so, we will confuse and scatter them." the man replied, a simple tone in his voice, as one speaking to a child. "Once it registers in their feeble minds who is attacking them, they will split into factions. It is then, that we will kill them."

"I see your point. It would be easy to destroy them by working together and yet separately. Now, we just need to decide upon when we should attack and where."

"We would need to attack at night as I am at my weakest during the day." the man replied, his eyes clearly saying that Naraku would do well to not use that info against him. "As for where they've set up camp on the south side of a crater. It seems to be permanent as they haven't moved from that spot."

"Very well, let us attack them this night so, we may remove these threats to our lives quickly." Naraku commanded, moving in the direction of the crater.

"That is not possible at this time."

"What!" Naraku growled, spinning to face the man once more.

"The night is growing older as we speak, And I am not able to travel while the sun is up." the man replied calmly, turning toward the east. The first rays of morning were starting to lighten the sky. "I shall meet you in two nights time, on the southwestern edge of the crater." The man turned towards the tree line and began walking back the way he had come.

"Wait." The man stopped in mid stride but did not turn. "Will you not favor me with your name? For you know mine, but I do not know yours."

"Ville." Naraku watched him disappear in the tree line before turning back to his thoughts. But now he had two people to consider. The newest, Ville the Carpathian, seemed straight forward in his dislike and plans, but Matsudaira still posed an unknown equation.

"Did he take the bait?"

"Yes. I had no problems getting him to agree to the attack." Inuai gave a sigh of relief. Their whole plan had hinged on that one conversation.

"When?"

"Tomorrow night. I apologize for not reaching you sooner, but the sun prevented my travel."

"Do not worry. We've planned for every possibility." Inuai commented.

"I must take my leave now, lest Naraku suspects me."

"Of course. Thank you, my friend." Inuai watched as the Carpathian walked toward the western edge of the crater. She knew he would soon alter his course to fool Naraku.

"When do they plan to attack?" came Sesshomaru's cool voice.

"Tomorrow night from the southwest." Inuai replied evenly. "Do you... do you think we're ready for this?"

"Do not worry, little one." Sesshomaru said softly, pulling the young hanyou to him. "We are prepared. We have already won once, we can do it again."

"But what if something goes wrong?"

"Then we shall deal with it. Now, come on, we must tell the others."

Naraku paced amongst the trees near the crater. He made sure to stay back from the edge, hoping to keep his location hidden.

"The time to attack is almost upon us."

Naraku's head sapped up at the voice. He had not sensed anyone approach his location. "Ville, I did not hear you."

"It is my nature to be silent as the death I bring." A feral gleam lit in the Carpathian's eyes caused Naraku to shudder inwardly. "The noise made at our first meeting was for your benefit only."

"Are you sure of the campsite? I have not seen any signs of a fire or movement." Naraku bit out.

"They douse the fire every night, for fear of discovery. I assure you, they are there." Ville said confidently.

"And why have you not attacked them before now? With all your information, surely you could've taken out the bitch."

"It's not as easy as you make it out to be." Ville said simply. _It's like talking to a child!_ He growled mentally. "The only one who sleeps is the human, the rest keep watch. Now, if you are completely done with these inane questions, it is time to attack."

Ville and Naraku crept quietly to the center of the crater. They planned to call them out and destroy them if the very place Naraku had been destroyed. A bit of karma to bite them in the ass. Unfortunately for Naraku, karma didn't seem to be on his side.

As they looked to the south, there stood the inu family, standing in readiness, on the rim of the crater. The demon lord with Tokijin and Tenseiga on his hip. The hanyou, Inuyasha, already brandishing Tessaiga. The miko, with her simple bow and arrows. The twin, standing in a defensive pose, ready to fight for those she loves. Naraku's eyes widened marginally as he spied his one time minion amongst their ranks.

"So, this is the path you choose, Kagura?" he shouted. "You choose to die with these vermin?"

"No, Naraku," Kagura yelled back with barely contained rage. "We will not be dieing here today. That honor belongs solely to you!"

"We shall see." Naraku sneered.

"Inuai!" The demons turned at the new voice. Inuai inwardly smirked, knowing what was to come. "For your crimes against the Carpathian race, you shall pay!"

"Is that so?" she commented dryly. "Well, come on! Make me pay, Ville!"

Inuai ran to intercept the Carpathian, her sword hidden amongst the trees. Naraku smirked, victory would soon be his, he could taste it. He turned back to his opponents, the snarling from the group cause his lips to twitch into a menacing smile. "It seems as though it's down to us now. Perhaps you'd like to surrender now to save you the humiliation of losing."

"Not on your life, Naraku!" Inuyasha growled, gripping Tessaiga tighter in his hands. Sesshomaru nodded slightly, never once taking his cold gaze from the enemy.

The demons watched as a streak of red came blasting out of the trees, straight toward Naraku. _Come on, come on! _Kagome thought nervously. Just as the blur was about to connect, Naraku reached out and stepped to the side, holding a struggling Shippo by the neck.

"Did you honestly believe that little trick would work?" Naraku snarled as he tightened his hold on Shippo's neck.

"Yeah, cuz it did!"

"What?"

"Kaze no Kizu!" Inuyasha bellowed out unleashing the Wind Scar. Naraku moved to the side, holding Shippo in the direct path of the Wind Scar.

"Shippo! No!" Kagome screamed, running toward the kitsune, only to be held back by Inuyasha.

"It's too late, Kagome. He's gone." Inuyasha said softly, trying to comfort his mate.

"Watch those punches, Ville!" Inuai called out.

"Sorry, just trying to make it look real." Ville commented as he sent another punch toward the hanyou. "So, how's Mistoffelees doing?"

"He's good. He thinks my little Siri is his mate though." Inuai quickly ducked a well aimed combo.

"Shippo! No!" Inuai looked towards her family.

"That's the signal!" she yelled, running to grab So' unga. "Let's go!"

Naraku laughed. The kitsune was dead and at the hands of his 'father'. How much better could it get? "Will you not surrender now? Save your miko the pain of watching her family die, give up now." he said, gesturing between the charred remains in his hand and a sobbing Kagome.

"The only one to die here today, will be you! Kaze no Kizu!" The Wind Scar raced across the ground toward Naraku.

"Do you really think your little parlor tricks are going to hurt me?" Naraku scoffed. "I've seen everything you've got, and it'll mean nothing." He sent his tentacles toward Kagura and Kagome. He knew their mates would try to protect them at all costs,even if that meant sacrificing themselves. And just like he predicted, Inuyasha jumped if front of Kagome to protect her, his body pelted with the tentacles.

"Inuyasha!"

"Now, sis." Inuyasha wheezed out. The miasma was already starting to affect him.

"Dragon Twister!" Inuai yelled, pointing the sword at Naraku to direct it's path. The twister ripped up the ground, creating a path of destruction so wide that there was no way to dodge it.

"Damn you! I shall exact my revenge!" Naraku screamed as the twister tore up his body.

"Yeah, just keep telling yourself that." Inuai muttered before looking over to where her family was gathered around Inuyasha. "Ville!" she called running over.

"He needs help, now!" Kagome cried through the tears coursing down her face. She was smoothing Inuyasha's hair, trying to comfort her mate and herself any way she could. Sesshomaru looked on as stoic as ever, but you could see the pain radiated from the depths of his eyes. He may have projected to the world that he despised his brother, but for those that truly knew the tai-youkai, it was a different story. He loved his brother more than he would ever be able to say.

"Kagome, can you purify the miasma?" Inuai asked, urgency evident in her voice.

"I I don't know."

"Well, try! We need to get the poison out his system before Ville can try to heal him!" Inuai shouted at her sister in law. She looked back at the Carpathian, who merely nodded, letting Inuai know she was correct.

"Okay." Kagome intoned, positioning herself to purify the miasma for her mate's body.

"What do you mean, he'll _try_to heal him?" Sesshomaru asked seriously.

Inuai looked up at her brother's voice. "The damage could be too great for Ville to be able to heal all the injuries on his own. He may need help." She looked to the Carpathian in question to see what he thought. Ville walked over to the hanyou and took in all the wounds. It didn't look good in his opinion, and he knew it.

"I'll need to contact Gregori. He's the best healer of our race."

"Do it."

"Inuai! Your side!" Kagura called out, noticing the blood dripping down Inuai's leg. Inuai looked down to see the deep cut in her side.

"Don't worry, it's not that bad. Inuyasha needs more help than I do." she said, wincing slightly in pain.

"Okay, I think the miasma's out now." Kagome said tiredly. It had taken almost twenty minutes to rid the hanyou of the poison to his system. Kagura gently pulled the young woman back from her mate to give Ville space to work and a more comfortable place to sit and watch over him.

"I can only repair the smaller injuries for now. We have to get him to my homeland where Gregori is waiting for us." Ville said before sitting down next to Inuyasha and beginning to chant.

"Kagura, can you take Inuyasha and Ville to the Carpathian Mountains on one of your feathers?" Inuai asked quietly. It was apparent to everyone that the gash in her side was starting to affect her.

"I think so." Kagura replied from her spot next to Kagome.

"Sesshomaru, I need you to help me get back to Mirkwood."

"Are you sure you can make the jump?" Sesshomaru asked, concern coloring his voice.

"Yeah. I'll be fine. We need to worry more about Inuyasha." Inuai said softly, looking at her brother. His breaths were becoming shorter as they spoke and she feared that he would not make it to the Carpathian village. "Hang on, Inuyasha. You have to survive for your mate." she whispered as they watched Kagura and Ville lift Inuyasha onto the feather and speed away to the west.

**_Blanket disclaimer for A Hanyou's Life:_**

**_I don't own anything you recognize. If I did, my daughter would be spoiled rotten. _**

**_Let me know what you think so far by hitting that little button down there. _**


	23. A New Year and New Problems

**_Yay! Finally, a new chapter for your enjoyment! I know it's been a long time, almost a year (Holy crapola!), but I'm back. _**

**_I hope to have the next chapter out by next week as it's already written. I'm still working on this and won't give it up. So, fear not I will not abandon it!_**

**_And now, sit back, relax, and enjoy!!!!_**

**A New Year and New Problems**

Inuai looked out across the Great Hall, taking in all the new faces she would be teaching this year, as well as the faces she knew that would once again be her students. Her gaze slid over all the house tables before stopping on the Gryffindor table. She smiled at three friends in particular. The Golden Trio were laughing happily at something Seamus had said about his summer hols. Harry looked up toward the Head Table and waved at his adoptive mother. It was his final year at Hogwarts, and Inuai knew that the final battle with Voldemort would come soon.

The past months had been spent training and preparing for any eventuality that might come up during the year. They felt they were prepared for an attack whenever it might come. The Horcruxes had been found and destroyed, except one, Nagini. There was no way they could get close to the snake, no matter what avenue they tried. Moldyshorts kept the damn thing too close to him at all times. Sesshomaru had come the closest to killing the snake, using all his demon abilities in the attempt.

Inuai was brought out of her musings as McGonagal led the first years in to be sorted. She wondered briefly if these children would survive this war. She knew, deep down, that should the war come to Hogwarts, their chance for survival was very slim. Everyone involved hoped that that wouldn't happen, but didn't dare put all their hopes on that.

In the past few weeks, Voldemort had become unpredictable with his attacks, both in the Muggle and Magical worlds. Even the Minister was taking extra precautions concerning the Wizarding populace. A number of Aurors had been stationed along the Express and even more were set to patrol the school and grounds.

Inuai looked down the staff table, noticing for the first time, the effect that Dumbledore's retirement had had on the rest of the staff. It had come as quite a shock to everyone when he had announced his resignation at last year's Leaving Feast. He had given no reasons for this sudden decision and had effectively disappeared from the public eye. No one had heard from him since then and any owls sent, came back with the original letters unopened.

"Welcome, everyone, to a new year at Hogwarts!" McGonagal said to the students. "There are a few announcements that need to be made before you stuff yourselves full of the delicious food. First and foremost, I shall be taking over as Headmistress. I want you all to know that my door is always open to you. Secondly, I'd like to welcome back Remus Lupin, who has graciously agreed filled the post of DADA professor this year. Now, as many of you may have noticed, Professor Snape is no longer with us, and so, Professor Horace Slughorn has agreed to come back and teach for another year. And now, please dig in before Mr. Weasley's stomach tries to eat him from the inside." There was laughter from around the Hall, but most notably from the Gryffindor table as the food made it's grand appearance.

"I do hope you're ready for this year, Merry." McGonagal said to the hanyou.

"Yes, I believe my brothers and I are sufficiently prepared for this year." Merry replied, spooning some food into Siri's mouth.

"I wish you would change your mind about next year." the Headmistress said softly, knowing the young woman would be able to hear her. It had been made very clear that Merry would only be staying until Harry had graduated.

"Only time shall tell, Minerva. It will be stressful enough this year as it is." She looked toward her brother as she said this, knowing how worried he was over his mate. It had come out soon after Naraku's demise that Kagome was pregnant, and only Inuyasha jumping in front of her saved their child. The young woman was currently in the able hands of Madame Pomfrey, who was making sure everything was going smoothly. The stress of the battle and seeing her adopted son 'die' had had a profound effect on the young miko. Inuai sincerely hoped everything was okay with their pup.

The siblings looked as one as the door to the side of the hall opened, and Kagome came in to join her mate at the table. She whispered into her mate's ear, causing him to shudder from the sensations her breath had on the delicate hairs there, before sitting back to fill her plate, a big smile on her face. Inuyasha looked incredulously at his mate before breaking into a smug smile.

"So? Are you going to share the news with the rest of your family?" Sesshomaru asked dryly.

"There's two." Inuyasha said simply and smugly.

"Oh my gosh! Twins? Really?" Inuai said excitedly. The soon-to-be mom nodded, a beaming smile covering her face. "I'm so happy for you!" She ran over to envelope the miko in a hug.

"When are we to expect these little ones?" Kagura asked, giving the young woman a hug of her own.

"Poppy said they'd be here around Christmas." The young mother was positively glowing as she rubbed her hand over her rounded stomach. There was a slight sadness about Kagome that only the family of demons were able to sense.

"You haven't told her yet, have you?" Inuai hissed to her twin.

"No," he said sadly, wincing slightly at the continued pain he was causing his mate. "It wouldn't do to tell her without him here. She won't believe me otherwise." They all nodded in acceptance, knowing how stubborn the miko was. "I just wish I knew if he was getting better."

"I'll talk to Mistoffelees tonight. He should be able to get in touch with Ville and Gregori." Inuai said softly, squeezing his arm to reassure him that things would be alright. Inuyasha smiled his thanks before going back to his meal and mate.

"I can't wait for Defense this year!" Ron exclaimed, all the while stuffing more food into his already full mouth.

"Am I hearing correctly? Ronald Weasley, excited about learning?" Hermione asked incredulously, her face a mixture of shock and disgust.

"What?" he spoke up, food flying across the table. "I'm allowed to be excited about school. Just because it doesn't happen often." Ron grumbled out the last bit, his ears turning red as he laughed along with his friends.

"I'm just glad to be back instead of camping in some remote forest looking for Horcruxes." Harry said quietly so only his friends could hear.

"Do you really think we would've had to do that?" Hermione asked worriedly.

"If Merry wasn't around, who knows? It might have been our only choice." he replied soberly.

"As I'm sure you are all ready to head to you nice, comfy beds, but there are a couple items that need to be addressed. Firstly, the Forbidden Forest is off limits to everyone. Also, Mr. Filch has updated his list of banned items, which is posted on his door should anyone care to look. And now, off to bed with you. Good Night."

The trio took an out of the way route to Gryffindor Tower, hoping to escape the stares and questions of the first years. They weren't nearly as bad as the Creevey brothers, but it still grated on Harry's nerves. As they rounded the corner by the Muggle Defense room, they noticed a familiar figure pacing about the hall.

"Mist, is everything ok?" Harry asked timidly, worried that something had happened with his family.

"Ah, Harry," the Carpathian's baritone voice washed over the three teens. "Everything is fine. But perchance you can help me?"

"Of course! What do you need?"

"I need to speak with your mother and uncles without alerting Kagome. Unfortunately, she is sitting with them in the common room, and if I go in there to talk to them, she will know what's going on." Mistoffelees truly looked nervous about the prospect of going in to the room that Harry felt sorry for him and agreed, telling his friends he would meet them in the Gryffindor common room.

A knock roused the siblings from their somewhat secretive conversation. "Who on Earth could that be?" Kagome slowly got up from her chair to answer the door. "Harry! What a nice surprise!"

"Hey, Aunt Kagome. Um... Can I talk to my mum and her brothers a moment?" he asked innocently. A summer with the elves had taught the young wizard to keep his emotions in check and to never betray what he was thinking by his facial expressions.

"Certainly." Inuai, Inuyasha, and Sesshomaru quickly walked into the hallway with Harry, clearly wondering what could be so important that it couldn't wait until the next day.

"Okay, Mist, they're all yours." Harry said clearly once the door had shut. The Carpathian stepped away from the shadows, giving a rare smile to Harry as he headed back to his common room.

"What's going on, Mistoffelees? Why not just come in to talk to us?" Inuai asked worriedly.

"I have news that I did not wish to distress the miko with." Mist sighed, rubbing his forehead tiredly. "Shippou's condition hasn't improved, but neither has it declined. Gregori is unsure what he can do to help the kitsune."

"So, what are we to do?" Sesshomaru asked stoically. "Anything this Gregori needs of us, we will be more than happy to provide." It was not often that the tai-youkai would go to such lengths for the kitsune, but when something compromised Rin's happiness, he would go to the ends of the world.

"I'm not sure what could possibly be done to help." Mistoffelees said regretfully. He had asked Gregori the same question. Both men knew that should anything happen to the kitsune, Rin would come after them before joining her mate. They had, in fact, not told Rin what had happened to her mate, hoping to stave of her temper.

"Then we shall go see Gregori and find out what can be done." Sesshomaru said with finality.

"And I'll go talk to Poppy. There might be something she can do to help." Inuai said, hoping to help in any way possible and that Harry's theory would be right.

"What could Poppy possibly be able to do?" Inuyasha asked snidely. The plight of his adopted son was getting to him, and his attitude was definitely starting to show.

"If it's his kitsune magic that's doing this, then who better to have there then someone who knows practically everything about magic!" Inuai yelled at her twin. She knew it was childish, but she didn't care. They needed to get help for Shippou, and they needed it yesterday. The three men knew she was telling the truth. No one they knew, knew more about magic than the Mediwitch.

"Fine, but be quick about it. We shall be leaving in the morning." Sesshomaru remarked coldly. All those present knew he did not mean the iciness that crept into his voice. He was worried about Shippou and what would happen to Rin should the kitsune pass on. Inuai ran as fast as her legs would carry her, knowing that time was of the essence when it came to the kitsune.

"I don't know what I could possibly do in this situation, deary." Poppy said pleasantly as she bustled about the Infirmary. Inuai quickly flowed the mediwitch as she checked the potions supply.

"But Poppy, you are the foremost expert that I know of when it comes to magic and it's effects on the body! Who better to go with them then you." Inuai argued. Poppy stopped what she was doing and thought quietly about what the young hanyou had said.

"And I wouldn't be gone more than a few days?"

"A week at the most." At the mediwitch's stern look, she hurried on to explain the arrangements that had been made. "One of the Carpathian healers will be here during that time to help out, and I will be here as well. Nothing will go wrong, I promise, Poppy. And if we need anything, we can get a hold of you in just a thought."

Madame Pomfrey looked at the pleading look on Inuai's face before nodding her acceptance. If anyone could take care of her patients, then Inuai and her Carpathian friends could handle whatever may come up. "Just who is this Carpathian that will be taking care of my patients? I won't let anyone off the street take care of them."

"I assure you, Poppy, that I wouldn't let in anyone who wasn't fully qualified." Inuai smiled warmly. "They should be here in the morning before you leave so, you can approve of them yourself."

"Very well."

It had been a relatively quiet couple of days since Poppy had departed on her mission. No major catastrophes, thanks in large part to there not being a Quidditch game scheduled for that weekend. The students had even responded well to Mikhail and Raven. Inuai still couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that the Carpathian Prince and his mate had come all the way to Hogwarts. Mikhail rarely left the mountain range they called home, except in the most dire of circumstances. And even then, Gregori was always with him. Inuai was convinced that babysitting a school full of children did not count, and she had a good idea about the reasoning behind this but chose not to pursue the matter.

"Professor Greenleaf?" The tiny voice brought the hanyou quickly back to the present. She left the mediwitch's office to see who had entered.

"What can I help you with?" The young Ravenclaw looked perfectly fine besides being extremely nervous.

"Professor Snape needs your assistance in the dungeons." she said quickly and quietly. "Something about a fight and spilled potions."

Inuai ran to get Poppy's healer bag, hoping it wouldn't be too serious, and quickly made her way towards the potions classroom. As she got closer, she could see the group of seventh years standing in the corridors, trying to stay away from the violently green, gelatinous potion. "What happened?" she asked quickly.

"Malfoy threw something into Harry's cauldron." Hermione supplied in a pained voice as Inuai noticed her cradling her arm. "Harry got pissed and punched him. Snape tried to stop them until the potion exploded all over them. The rest of us were far enough away to only receive minor injuries."

"What potion were you working on?" Inuai inquired, looking at the goo covering the floor. _Did it just move?_

"Well, I was working on Draught of Living Death, but we were all assigned different potions."

"Thank you, Miss Granger, I'll take it from here. Please help anyone with injuries up to the Hospital Wing, and I should be there shortly." She quickly cast a tempus spell and grimaced. It would be hours before Mikhail and Raven would be able to help. "Rus! Draco! Harry!" she called out. Receiving no reply, she tried every cleaning charm she knew to no avail. The gelatinous goo would just not go away. "Dobby!"

"Yes, Padsy?" the excitable house elf asked as he popped next to Inuai. "What can Dobby do for you?"

"Do you think you could get rid of this goo for me?" Inuai asked simply. Dobby looked thoughtful for a moment before snapping his fingers. The goo instantly vanished, leaving the hallway and classroom spotless. "Thank you."

She cautiously made her way into the classroom, not knowing what to expect. As she peeked around the door frame, she saw a sight that she knew she would never forget. Severus, Draco, and Harry were stuck to each other. It looked like they had been frozen in mid-fight, but were too close to do any real damage. Inuai quickly cleared her throat, trying to keep from laughing. "What happened here?" she asked, making her way over to the stuck trio. At hearing no response, she looked up from the healer's bag. "Uh, guys?"

Upon closer inspection, she noticed that even though their lips were moving, no sound was coming out.

"Finite Incantatem." The trio's mouths clicked shut as soon as the spell left the hanyou's mouth. "Hmm. That wasn't supposed to happen." Inuai ran a diagnostic spell over the three men, but found nothing physically wrong except for ta couple of bumps and bruises from the fight.

"Professor?"

Inuai looked toward the doorway to see Hermione and Ron. She motioned them in, hoping to get some kind of solution to the three men's predicament. After half an hour, she decided that ther was nothing to be done without Pomfrey's expertise.

"Miss Granger, Mr. Weasley. Perhaps you would be willing to help me get these three up to the Infirmary. We'll have to do it without magic." she said quickly as the two teens reached for their wands.

"But that'll take forever!" Ron whined loudly.

"That may be, Mr. Weasley, however magic doesn't seem to work on this... stuff."

"Poor Harry. Imagine having to be stuck to those two until Madam Pomfrey gets back." Hermione said despondently, some _light_ reading open on her lap.

"Yeah. Glad it's him and not me."

"Ronald!"

"What? I'm just speaking the truth." Ron placated, his hands up, hoping to fend off the impending lecture.

"I know, Ron. I just wish Madam Pomfrey was here. She'd be able to fix this in no time."

"When is she supposed to be back anyways?" Ton asked from his spot by Harry's bed. It had been two days since the accident and the two friends had rarely left their friend's side. Inuai had managed to place the three into a magically induced sleep, thanks to one of Poppy's potions, to keep the three stuck men from trying to hurt each other.

"What in Merlin's name happened here, and why didn't you call me?" the Mediwitch's voice broke the quiet of the Infirmary as she bustled over to her patients.

"Poppy. I'm glad you're back." Inuai said calmly, making her way toward the healer. "How was your trip?"

"How was my trip?" Poppy screeched, running every diagnostic spell she knew to get to the root of the problem. "Would you care to tell me what happened to these three?"

"Potions accident. Everyone was making a different potion so, it's hard to say what the goo was supposed to be. And magic doesn't exactly work on it."

"Very well. Now, all of you out!"

"Shippou!"

"Hey, Aunt Inuai!" the hyperactive kitsune bounded over to the doorway as Inuai race to meet him.

"I'm so glad you're okay!"

"Come and sit down. I'm sure you had a long trip. And you so need to tell me what happened!" she said excitedly, pulling him over to where the rest of the family sat.

"You were right. My fox fire was out of whack for Dad's Wind Scar." he explained as Kagome pulled him close. "All I remember is being in the dark until someone turned on the light."

"I'm just so glad you're alright! Oh, my poor baby!" Kagome cried, pulling the kitsune as close as her pregnant belly would allow. Unfortunately, the twins didn't like the invasion of their space, and Shippou became the recipient of their discomfort.

"Don't worry, guys, you'll get to meet me and everyone else soon." he laughed, running his hand over Kagome's swollen stomach. "And thank you for sending Poppy to help, Aunt Inuai."

"Actually, you should be thanking Harry. He's the one that thought of sending her."

"Well, where is he? I'd like to thank him personally." he said, looking around the room.

"He's being tended to by Poppy." she explained. "There was a small potions accident a couple of days ago."

"Is he going to be alright?" Kagura asked worriedly, bringing Kagome a cup of warm milk.

"Yeah. Now that Poppy's back. He should be back tomorrow for sure."

"Do we have any more pickles?" Kagome perked up, breaking the silence that had fallen over the group. Everyone looked at the very pregnant miko in horror and disgust.

"Eww! That is so wrong!" Shippou cried, scrunching up his nose in distaste.

**Blanket Disclaimer for _A Hanyou's Life:_**

**I don't own anything you recognize. **


	24. Finding the Pieces

_**Well, folks, here it is! Another chapter I hope you like. This one surprised me a bit as it wanted to get written before Chapter 23.**_

_**I hope to have the next chapter up soon. And thank you for being so patient with me.**_

_**And now, sit back, relax, and enjoy!**_

**Finding the Pieces**

"Hey, Harry." Ron greeted as he flopped down on the sofa beside his friend. "What're you working on?"

"Oh, hey. Ummm.... just some extra credit work." Harry responded, putting the parchment into his bag.

"But that looked like it had runes on it, and you don't take Ancient Runes."

"I never said it was for Ancient Runes, Ron." he said sarcastically. "It's just.. it's not something I can talk about here."

"Oh, I get it. You want me to go get Hermione, and we can go to the Room." Ron said, getting up form his spot.

"Not just yet. I want to make sure this is actually feasible. That it'll actually work." Harry added quickly at the confused expression on Ron's face.

"What'll actually work?" Hermione asked, sitting down beside the two boys.

"Well, I guess I can't keep it a secret anymore." Harry sighed as he got up and made his way to the door. "Come on." The two friends looked at each other before following their friend into the corridors.

They walked in silence for awhile, each in their own thoughts. They knew that Voldemort would be coming after Harry soon, it was only a matter of time. Hermione looked up at her boyfriend, taking in all of his changes over the summer. He had finally had a much needed growth spurt, making him only a head shorter than Ron. He had also taken to wearing his hair long like the elves in Mirkwood. He had a confidence and grace that he seemed to carry with him like a cloak. It did nothing to change who he was, but in fact, enhanced what made him Harry.

"Where are we going, Harry?" Harry smiled down at the young woman by his side.

"We're going to see my mum. But that's all I can say for now." he said somewhat cryptically.

"Harry, mate, where are we?" Ron asked, looking about them in confusion. Harry had led them to a very seldom used area of the castle.

"Do you remember when we were trying to get Sirius out of the Veil? Well, this is where we got everything perfected." he said simply as he tapped his wand against a series of bricks around an old, dusty tapestry. Just as his friends were contemplating his sanity, the tapestry moved aside to reveal a vast room. "Stay to the edges of the room and don't step on anything written on the floor." Harry looked at both teens directly before walking straight to the middle of the room, nimbly stepping over the runes written there.

"Harry," Hermione breathed out softly. The young witch was absolutely speechless. In all her years at Hogwarts, she had never seen a room like this, nor had she heard of it. "Is this?"

"Yes, Mione." Harry replied easily. "This is a ritual room. Although it hasn't been used since Dumbledore was in diapers. Most of the rituals done in here were blood rituals so, we need to be careful."

"Blood rituals!" Ron choked out, paling at the thought of the viscous liquid being split in this very room.

"Haven't been done in about a century, Ron. You guys can have a seat on the sofa through that door. And if you need anything, just call for Dobby." Harry said simply, gesturing towards a room off to his right. "There's a one way window so, you'll be able to see everything."

"But I thought we were going to see Merry?" Hermione said as she and Ron made their way carefully to the aforementioned room.

"I'm right here. I got your message, what's going on, pup?" Inuai made her way over to her son in the middle of the room.

"We got all the Horcruxes, right?" At Inuai's curt nod, Harry continued, "And we can't get at Nagini because Voldemort keeps a close watch on her."

"We've covered all of this before. What are you getting at, pup?" Inuai asked impatiently.

"Ok, so, I've been looking over the ritual we used to get Sirius out of the Veil, and I think we can use it against Voldemort." he said quickly.

"In what way? Show me."

Harry quickly got the parchment out that he had been working on. "Well, I think if we change these runes around and change the emphasis on these words, it should rip the last of his soul out of his body."

The hanyou sat down on a clear space and looked over the parchment carefully, listening to everything Harry was saying. All of his findings seemed sound, but there was still the question of the soul. "Everything looks good, at least on parchment. But we don't have any Death Arches just lying around so, what are you going to do with his soul once it gets ripped out of his body? And for that matter, what are you going to do about his body?"

"I hadn't thought of that yet." he said sheepishly. "That's why I brought Ron and Hermione."

"Okay, but how do you plan to get Moldyshorts over the runes?"

"I don't." Harry said simply, a smile on his face from her use of the name. "I plan to get him under the runes."

"Under?"

"Yeah. I've been looking over the Marauder's Map, and this room is directly over the Great Hall. So, if I can get him into the school, it's set."

"Alright, we've definitely got a good start. Let's keep working on it, to fine tune everything."

* * *

Inuai and Harry worked non-stop on the ritual with every free moment they could find. It had been almost two months, and they almost had everything perfected. The only thing left to decide was who would be doing the incantations. Which was why they were back in the ritual room, Harry standing in the middle of the room once more.

"Alright, Harry. Just like we talked about!" Inuai called out from the doorway. "Stay focused and concentrate on what you need."

Harry nodded shakily, holding the ritual knife at arm's length. He took a deep breath before slowly sliding the knife across his palm. Quickly closing his hand into a fist, he watched as the blood dripped from his hand. There was something morbidly beautiful about the red liquid, and Harry could not help but watch a couple of the liquid rubies as they splashed against the stone floor before regaining his focus on the task at hand.

"Ostendo ut mihi illud EGO peto. Illud necessarius cerno animus ex somes." As son as the last word left his mouth, Harry collapsed to the floor, unconscious.

"What happened?"

"Don't worry, Hermione. This is all apart of the ritual." Inuai said calmly, looking at her son through the only window into the room.

"How long will he be out?" the young witch asked worriedly. She had never felt so helpless, even when they had gone to the Ministry.

"It could be anywhere from a couple of hours to a couple of months." Inuai sighed. "But," she added at Hermione's gasp, "Harry's strong so, I think the first option is more likely."

Hermione breathed out a sigh of relief at that, settling herself comfortably to wait for Harry to come back to her. "How long did it take you?" she asked softly, not needing to clarify.

"Two days."

"But you never missed a class!"

"Exactly what the weekends are for." Inuai smirked at the young woman. The two women sat in silence, each in their own thoughts about what was to come.

"So, how will he know who's needed for this to work?"

Inuai chuckled softly at the young witch. _I should've known that simple answers wouldn't suffice._ "Always the scholar, eh, Miss Granger? Very well. During his trance like state, he will not be able to see any faces or anything that will tell him exactly who he will need."

"But how?"

"It's a bit like a puzzle that he must figure out himself. He'll be shown signs or auras that represent certain people. Some of the things he sees may not make sense, but he will know exactly who they signify subconsciously." Inuai explained, fully in teacher mode.

"What if he can't figure out what he's shown?"

"Then we try again and again until he does. It's all we can do." Inuai said softly, worry coloring her voice. She did not want it to come to that. They didn't have time to redo the ritual again. Snape had reported at the last Order meeting that Voldemort was on the move, wanting to end this war. And that meant only one thing, he was coming after Harry.

* * *

Harry gasped as he sat up, quickly looking about him, trying to remember where he was. _The ritual room._ His mind supplied for him. _I wonder where everyone is. Mione and Merry said they'd be here when it was over. _A loud grumble from his stomach brought Harry out of his musings.

"It's about time you woke up."

Harry turned to find Inuai right where he had 'left' her. "Merry! Where's Hermione?"

"She's at breakfast. Which is where you should be." Inuai chuckled as she gracefully made her way across the floor the Harry, his stomach giving another loud grumble. "Come on. Climb onto my back, you're too weak to make it out on you own."

The raven haired man looked to argue, but decided better of it as a wave of dizziness washed over him. "What day is it?" he asked wearily.

"Monday morning, and I've taken the liberty of excusing you from your classes. Now take this and go see your bonny lass."

"Why won't you tell me what you saw?" Hermione asked exasperatedly. It had been two days, and Harry had remained very tight lipped about the whole thing.

"Mione," he said gently, holding her hands in his. "This is something I have to do on my own. If this was anything else, you'd be the first one I'd ask."

"Ok, fine." she huffed. "But I want to know you figure it out."

"I wouldn't dream of going to anyone else before you." He pulled the young woman into his embrace, taking a deep breath, savoring the scent that was purely Hermione. Just as the scent of her strawberry shampoo hit his nose, a picture flashed across his field of vision. Parchment and quills. Harry's eyes shot open. "Mione, you're one of the three." he rasped out as though he hadn't spoken in days.

"What?"

"You're one of the three."

"Are you sure?" she asked somewhat fearfully.

"Definitely. I've never been more sure of anything in my life." Harry looked deeply into her chocolate brown eyes, hoping to allay her fears. "The only thing I'm more sure of, is what we have together."

"Oh, Harry. I'm just so scared of losing you." she cried into his shoulder.

"You won't lose me. There's nowhere else I want to be. And Voldemort has another thing coming if he thinks he's got other plans for me."

"We should probably go tell Merry now."

"Yes, you need to learn your part quickly."

* * *

"Inutaishio." Harry said clearly. He silently thanked whatever deity was up there that Merry had chosen a password that was not in the demon language. "Hey, Uncle Yasha. Is Merry around?"

"Sorry, pup. She's in a meeting with that birdie group. Should be back soon." the hanyou said from his spot on the sofa where he was currently tending to his mate's swollen feet.

"You could always talk to me or Kagura, if you don't want to wait too long." Kagome commented, a smile on her face.

"I think I'll see if Aunt Kagura is free." Harry said, quickly making his way towards the stairs.

"Harry, love! How are you, my dear?" Kagura said happily.

"Hey, Aunt Kagura. Can I ask you something?"

"Of course, Harry! Anything for my favorite nephew." she replied, motioning the young man to sit down beside her.

"I'm you only nephew." Harry blushed a bit at his aunt's affection. Even though he had been considered family for more than a year, he still had trouble accepting the affection that was so freely given.

"And that makes you my favorite. Now what did you want to ask?"

"Umm, well, it's kinda embarrassing."

"Harry, look at me." Kagura said sternly. She gently lifted Harry's chin until he was looking directly into her magenta eyes. "If you want, this will never go farther than you and I, and I won't say anything demeaning about what we talk about. Okay?" At Harry's hesitant nod, she dropped her hand from his chin and sat back, picking up her tea.

"Well, I was kind of wondering how you knew Uncle Sesshomaru was the one for you?" Harry muttered softly, knowing that the wind sorceress would hear him nonetheless.

"I suppose it was quite different as we're both demons, and you're human. My youki told me that he was it for me. That I would never want for another. But I suspect it would be different for you." Kagura said gently. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, I think Hermione's the one, but I want to make sure before I do something extremely foolish."

"I'm sure that whatever you do will not be foolish to Hermione." Kagura reassured. "She really seems to care for you, and I imagine, she feels the same way you do."

"Really?" Harry looked up with a hopeful expression on his face.

"Really. Now, why don't you go and see your favorite girl." Harry gratefully hugged his aunt and instantly, a vision of a whirlwind flashed across his eyes.

"Aunt Kagura, do you know what a whirlwind could mean?" Harry asked carefully.

"Well, it could mean a lot of different things. There's a whirlwind as part of my mate mark, why?"

"I think you're supposed to help me with the ritual." he said unsure.

"Harry, if you need me to help, I will do whatever you need."

"Thanks, Aunt Kagura."

* * *

"Move your ass, Harry! The Death Eaters aren't going to let you take a break to catch your breath." Inuai called out as the young man darted amongst the gravestones of the make shift graveyard. It was just one of the scenarios that Voldemort could use to end the war, and while this one seemed unlikely due to the many hiding places, they used it anyways.

The young wizard was currently taking refuge behind Riddle Sr.'s gravestone, trying desperately to catch his breath and regroup. They had been running these scenarios for the last four hours nonstop, knowing that the Dork Lord would not attack when Harry was at his best. If anything, he would attack during the night or when his spies told him that the Light's Golden Boy was not at his best. So, they had to make sure Harry was always ready, which meant the constant training.

Harry hovered a mirror just to the right and left of the gravestone, hoping to find the whereabouts of his opponents. _There._ He quickly vanished the mirrors as two curses sailed by the gravestone. Harry summoned his blade to him before taking a deep breath and stepping out from his refuge, right into the path of a violently green curse. He quickly sidestepped the curse, allowing his sword to take the full brunt of it. He called forth another sword, seemingly from thin air, and began twirling them around his body seamlessly, deflecting the curses being thrown at him from all sides. All of them were ignored as Harry continued to move toward his target. The curses started raining down upon him the closer he got to Moldyshorts. The swords were now a blur and sweat began to pour from his body, but Harry did not waver. Just as he got within ten feet of Riddle, he released both swords, each flying deftly toward a single target, as Harry dropped to the ground, avoiding the curses been shot at him.

He knew that the swords had struck true as the curses stopped. Harry looked up as the illusion fell, showing a decapitated dummy with a sword hilt sticking from it's chest. He took a deep breath as he checked himself over for any injuries.

"Not too bad, pup." Harry looked up as Inuyasha came over and helped him to his feet.

"Yeah, no broken bones this time." Harry smirked as he limped toward the safe area, where his family and friends could watch carefully. "How'd I do?"

"Better, but we can't hope to keep him dead for long if we can't get Nagini." Inuai said gravely, although there was pride evident in her eyes. "Go ahead and take the rest of the day off. You've earned it."

"Thanks, mum." he smiled gratefully, accepting the offered hug, knowing that Inuai would use some Carpathian healing.

"So, have you found your triad?" she asked, releasing him from the hug.

"Not all of them yet." he said sheepishly. "I still have one left."

"You know that you can ask the others for help, right?"

"Thanks. I think I will." Harry waved to the rest of his family before going to find his friends. As he walked towards Gryffindor Tower, he went over everything he had just been through, analyzing it from every angle. He knew there was technically nothing wrong with the scenario, and he could not have done anything differently without getting more than a few scratches. He looked up as he neared the portrait, noticing that the Fat Lady seemed to be out and about, again. Harry looked up and down the hallway, making sure he was alone as he located the right brick and popped open the portrait hole.

"Hey, Harry! How was training?" Neville asked from the sofa. He was reading through an Herbology book, turning the pages with on hand and his other arm around Ginny. Harry hadn't been too sure about the pair at first, but knew that Neville would never purposefully hurt the youngest Weasley.

"Tiring." he smiled. It was no secret in Gryffindor that Harry was training fiercely for the final battle against Voldemort. "You two seen Hermione around?"

"I think she said something about going to the library." Ginny supplied, giving her one time crush a heartwarming smile. "You know, typical Hermione."

Harry went up to his dorm to change out of his training clothes before making his way to the library, waving to Neville and Ginny as he left. She was probably researching the ritual. Unfortunately, there wasn't anything in the library about it, and, if his mum had anything to do with it, there never would be. Of course, there was also the problem of what to do about Voldemort's soul once they got it out of his body.

Harry smiled and nodded at Madam Pince as he made his way to the back of the library, where he knew Hermione liked to study. As he got closer, he caught a glimpse of the Weasley red hair. _Ron must be helping Mione._ Harry thought, smiling to himself. But as he came around the last corner, the smile dropped from his face.

"No!" he called out before turning and running back the way he had come. He didn't hear the resounding smack or Hermione calling out his name. He just ran. Where, he did not know. All he knew was he had to get away. Away from the hurt and the pain. Away from the image that haunted him every time he closed his eyes. Ron and Hermione kissing. He tried to tell himself that his Mione would never do that to him, but the proof had been right there in the library.

He didn't know how long he had been running, but, when he finally stopped to catch his breath, he recognized where he was. Harry looked around, and, finding no one, went into the only place he could possibly be alone with his thoughts and nightmares.

**Blanket Disclaimer for _A Hanyou's Life:_**

**I don't own anything you recognize. If I did, I would certainly be living the sweet life, but, alas, I'm not.**

**So, now tell me what you think. What you like, don't like, or even if there's something you think I should change. All you have to do is hit that little button down there.**


	25. Forgiveness and Complications

_Hey, everyone! Well, the wait is over for now. _

_This may be the last chapter for awhile as it's starting to slow down and the writer's block is becoming more of a problem. _

_However, I am not abandoning this story. It will be finished. I can't say how many more chapters there will be, but I do believe it is starting to wind down to the end._

_But for now, sit back, relax, and enjoy!_

**Chapter 25**

"Where is it, Ron?" Hermione screeched at the redhead. Her anger over what he had done being pushed to the forefront. It had been hours since the 'incident' (she refused to actually think about the vile act), and she had not been able to find Harry. She desperately needed to find him, explain what had happened.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Ron yelled back. He still sported a bright red print from the very pissed off witch in front of him.

"The map, Ronald! And if you tell me that you don't know which map I'm talking about, I'll give you a matching hand print on the other side _and_ hex you into next week!"

"I don't know where it is!" he yelled back. "As far as I know, he could've given it to Merry!" He was more upset that the girl he had fancied for years did not return his feelings than the fact that she was yelling at him now. He knew she was just worried about Harry, and, if he was honest with himself, so was he. "Wait up, Hermione! I'll come with you." he called to her retreating back as she sprinted from the common room.

"Don't you think you've done quite enough?" she snapped out once he had caught up with her.

"No, I don't!" he shot back. "Listen, I'm the one who caused all of this so, I should be the one to explain and apologize."

"Ron, I understand that you feel responsible, as you should, but I need to find Harry myself." she sighed. "I don't know if he'll believe what I have to say, but I have to talk to him at least." She turned around to continue towards her destination, her mind worrying about Harry and what could have happened to him. _Please let him be okay._ She thought frantically. Hopefully, Merry would have the map or know where Harry was.

She pounded on the door, hoping that someone was there and that that someone was Merry. She was just about to leave after five minutes when the door cracked open and a coal black eye peeked out at the distraught witch. "What's wrong, Miss Granger?" came the sleepy and somewhat disgruntled voice. Hermione looked toward the window and saw that the sun had just barely set.

"Umm... I'm sorry to disturb you, Mist, but is Merry here?" she asked timidly.

"I'm sorry, Miss Granger, she is not. However," he said at her dejected look, "she should be back shortly. You may come in and wait if you would like."

Hermione looked around distraught once again before nodding and making her way into Merry's quarters. She was worried about Harry and hoped that he wouldn't do anything he would regret later. A few minutes later, the door opened, and a very tired Inuai came trudging in.

"It's official. I hate detentions." she sighed wearily, flopping limply on the sofa. "I swear, if I have to spend one more evening with those two lumbering bakas... Oh! Hermione! I didn't see you there."

"Merry, have you seen Harry?" Hermione asked hurriedly, hoping against hope that she wouldn't need to use the currently missing map.

"I can't say as though I have." she said thoughtfully. "Is there something wrong?"

"Oh, Merry!" the young witch cried. "He's disappeared! And I need to explain that the kiss meant nothing to me."

"Kiss?" Inuai questioned, looking to Mist for some help, but the Carpathian merely shrugged his shoulders. "Perhaps you should tell me what happened."

"Ron found me in the library and said he had something important to tell me." Hermione sniffled, trying to dry her steadily falling tears. "He confessed his feelings for me, how he's fancied me for years and thought that my relationship with Harry was just a passing fling. And then... he, he."

"He kissed you." Inuai finished for her as realization dawned on her. "And Harry saw." Hermione merely nodded, tears cascading down her face.

"I tried to find him. I looked everywhere!" she said, her voice and mannerisms verging on hysteria. "But I need the map. You have to give me the map!"

"Hermione, calm down!" Inuai said sharply. "I don't have the map, but I may have an idea of where he is. Come on."

Inuai led the young woman toward a very familiar corridor and bathroom. As they walked in, she let out a sigh of relief. She had been right, and he had left the entrance open. "Looks like he's expecting you. Good luck. Oh, and Hermione? Try not to get caught on your way back." she said, handing her a bundle before walking purposely from the room.

"I don't deserve your forgiveness. I've been an utter prat."

"I know, but I can understand why you did it. I probably would've done the same thing myself."

"But, Harry."

"No buts, Ron." Harry replied calmly. "I've made my choice, and now you have to make yours. You can either accept my forgiveness, and we can go on being friends. Or you can reject it and continue to be a complete prat."

"Alright, Harry." Ron smiled at his best mate. "But I still could have really messed things up between you and Hermione."

"Perhaps, if it weren't for the open lines of communication we have. Now, let's go get some food before classes start."

"So, where did you go?" Ron asked nervously as they made their way to the Great Hall. He wasn't exactly comfortable with Harry's easy acceptance of what he had done.

"To the Chamber. It's the only place I can truly be alone to think things through." Harry had only been in the Chamber for a couple of hours when he figured everything out.

Flashback

Harry knew it must be getting close to curfew, but couldn't be sure as he had forgotten to put his watch on this morning. He had spent most of his time searching and exploring the expansive Chamber. He knew he probably hadn't seen everything the hidden cavern contained, but knew he would need to start mapping out all the tunnels and pipes to keep from getting lost.

He was climbing into the tunnel, now devoid of the snake skin and rubble from Lockhart's botched Obliviate, when he felt the tell tale tingle from the simple Proximity wards he had put up. A large smile lit his face as a familiar scent came to him on the breeze from the entrance. Harry quickened his pace, hoping to get to her before she took a wrong turn. Although she had asked many times to visit the Chamber, he had refused, not wanting her to see the giant Basilisk that had almost taken his life.

"Harry? Where are you?" Her voice was faint so he knew she was still at the bottom of the entrance. Harry ran the last few tunnels, wanting to be able to hold her in his arms again.

"Hermione!" he called as he rounded the last bend in the tunnel. She ran toward him with tears streaming down her face. The sight nearly broke his heart. "What's wrong, love?"

"I'm so sorry, Harry! I should've known what he was planning and stopped him, but I didn't. I'm so so sorry!" Hermione sobbed into his shoulder. Harry couldn't help himself and let a few chuckles escape. "Just what in Merlin's name are you laughing about?"

"I'm sorry, Mione. But it wasn't your fault. You have nothing to be sorry for." Harry said gently, cupping his girlfriend's face in his hands, causing her to look at him.

"But.."  
"I've had enough time to think everything through. I know you played no part in what happened."

"So, what about Ron?"

"I'll talk to him. Don't you worry your pretty little head over it." Harry said, smiling down at the young witch he had come to love. "We should probably head back up before curfew."

"It's already past curfew, but I've got that covered, thanks to your mum."

End Flashback

"Good morning, Harry!" Hermione called from her spot at the Gryffindor table. "Good morning, Ron. I trust things went smoothly this morning."

"Of course, they did, love. Although I think Ron's still waiting for the other shoe to drop." Harry teased his tall, lanky friend, who looked like he was sitting next to an active bomb.

"Ronald, stop it!" Hermione snapped, causing the redhead to jump. "We're not going to suddenly decide to hate you."

"I know. At least, I think I do. It's just going to take some time to sink in."

"Everything okay here?"

"Yeah, Mum. Everything's just fine."

"Tell me what I want to know, old man." hissed a sibilant voice.

A seemingly broken man with long gray hair lay motionless on the cold, stone floor. To the normal eye, it looked as though he had passed on to the afterlife. But if you looked closer, you could see the subtle rise and fall of his chest. The menacing figure stood over the man waiting for any sign that he had heard him.

Sighing, he walked away from the figure on the ground. "I guess I will just have to find some other way to get the information I desire." the man hissed, walking to the only door in the room. After a quickly whispered command, he turned back to his captive. "Thanks in no part to you meddling, I can no longer enter the boy's mind. But that won't matter for long."

"You called for me, My Lord?"

"Ah, yes. Andrew, I'm sure you remember the renowned Albus Dumbledore." the man mockingly said, motioning to the broken man on the floor. The fox demon spared a cursory glance toward the floor before giving a curt nod. "I need you to extract some information from the old coot's head. Find out where the boy is hiding. I want him out of the picture before the year is out."

"Yes, my Lord." Andrew replied, bowing shortly. He motioned to two large, ape-like goons to pick Dumbledore up and take him back to his quarters.

"One more thing, Andrew. I want the old man kept alive. I wish to truly break the boy before I kill them both."

"Of course, my Lord."

Andrew stalked down the corridors towards his quarters. _How dare he order me around like a common slave! _This was the last time he let that maniac order him around. He had too many other people to torture and kill, but no. He was now saddled with the old coot. His sense of smell would be screwed up for months, and he was sure that it would take longer to get the smell of old man and lemon drops out of his quarters.

"Listen closely, old man. I do not have time to sit here and torture the information out of you." he said coldly to the former Headmaster. "So, to save us both a lot of time, why don't you just tell me what the closely guarded secret is?"

Dumbledore looked straight ahead, his eyes dull with no sign of the twinkle that was always there. Andrew sighed. "Fine, have it your way, old man. But for now, I have more important things to do." he said, getting up and heading for the door. "Make yourself at home, you're going to be here for awhile." And with that, Dumbledore was left alone.

Albus sat in the armchair for a few moments as though waiting for the other shoe to drop. Surely, they wouldn't leave him to his own devices. After sending out his aura to check for any traps or guards, he got up to explore his surroundings. The sitting room, where he had been left, was sparsely decorated in an Oriental style. No pictures could be found to tell Dumbledore about this man's past.

He quietly and slowly limped his way further into the apartment, his injuries making any and all movement painful. The Oriental theme seemed to continue all throughout the place, and Dumbledore began to realize that it was more than just decoration. He was from the Orient, Dumbledore was sure of it, and, if his guess was correct, Andrew was from the same region in Japan as Inuai. Now if only he could get a message to the Order, but it would be impossible without alerting Voldemort and his followers. Unfortunately, Snape had bee discovered as a spy last year and so, would be of no help to Albus at this point. He sighed to himself knowing that he would not be escaping from his new prison anytime soon.

_Mrs. Greenleaf,_

_This letter is to inform you of the new laws that will be in effect as January 1st of the new year. All dark creatures must be registered with the Ministry of Magic under the proper level of risk._

_Our current records show that your file has been outdated since your school days. Therefore, please report to the Registrar's office within the next two weeks to correct this oversight._

_Best Regards,_

_Theodore Drake_

_Department for the Control of Dangerous Creatures_

"What the hell is this about?" Inuyasha yelled, causing some of the early risers to look up toward the Head Table.

"I take it you received the same missive." Sesshomaru drawled.

"I'm not registering my family with those nutcases!"

"Oh, stuff it, Inuyasha!" Inuai bit out. "Nobody is registering. None of us are permanent residents of this country so, they cannot force us to register."

"So, what happens if they send the Aurors after us?" Kagome asked worriedly.

"Everyone here has diplomatic immunity from their ridiculous laws. Sesshomaru is the tai-youkai for Japan, Inuyasha is the second-in-command, and Inuai is part of the royal family of Mirkwood." Kagura commented knowledgeably.

"Exactly." Inuai said smugly.

"Well, dear sister, I believe you're going to test out that theory of yours soon."

"I'm sure that idiot who calls himself Minister will be knocking at the castle doors but week's end." Inuai said.

"I'll take that bet, sis." Inuyasha said, smiling at his twin.

"Minerva, surely you can see the danger you're putting these children in. This is the future of Wizarding Britain we're talking about!"

"I assure you, Mr. Weasley, that when I took this position, I made the exact same vow that Albus and every single Headmaster and Mistress since the Founders have made. I will not go back on that vow." McGonagal said firmly.

"I'm sure you mean well, Professor, but you cannot possibly, in good conscience, keep that _creature_ and it's pack in the school with innocent students."

"And just what would you have me do, Mr. Weasley? Throw them to the wolves, so to speak? Inuai, Inuyasha, Sesshomaru, and their families will be staying until their teaching contract is up at the end of the school year. If they choose to renew that contract, I will gladly welcome them back with open arms." McGonagal stated firmly. "Now, if you will excuse me, I have a school to run. Good day."

"This isn't over, Professor." Percy shot back as he left the Headmistress' office.

"I don't believe it will ever truly be over." Minerva sighed to herself. This would only be the start of things to come. She got up and made her way toward the large fireplace. "Greenleaf quarters."

"What is going on, Minerva?" Filius asked concerned. He had never seen the normally stern woman so shaken up.

"I"m afraid I may have made things worse for us with the Ministry." she said softly, looking toward her Muggle Defense teachers. "I had a visit from Percy Weasley earlier today, and I told him that I stood behind you and your families 100%."

"While we appreciate the gesture, we don't want to cause any problems fro you and the school." Inuai said from between her brothers. "We've talked extensively about this, and we feel that the correct course of action is to take our families to Mirkwood, where they will be safe."

"But what of your classes? Certainly you wouldn't abandon the students in this critical time!" Professor Sprout said aghast at the thought.

"We wouldn't dream of abandoning the students." Sesshomaru said calmly. "Once our families are safely ensconced in Mirkwood, we will return to finish teaching."

"And what of these ludicrous laws the Ministry is trying to pass?" Snape asked perceptively.

"Feh! They can't do anything." Inuyasha scoffed.

"What my brother means," Inuai began before Inuyasha could get going, "is, we are prepared to do what is needed to 'protect' the students. Even if that means leaving the school."

"But you can't leave!" Flitwick squeaked out.

"Don't worry, Filius. Everything has been thought out. Even if we are forced from the school, we will continue to teach the students."

"How?"

"Perhaps I could field this question." Minerva said simply. At the siblings nod, she continued. "There are several secret passages onto the school grounds that Professor Greenleaf is well aware of. And if all else fails, I believe young Harry will be able to take over the classes."

"Precisely."

**Blanket Disclaimer for A Hanyou's Life: **

**I do not own anything you recognize. If I did, I wouldn't have to worry about the economy.**


	26. Chapter 26

_Hey, guys! Well, here's the next chapter. I hope you enjoy it as it was a joy to write. I'm still not sure on what the twins will be, genderwise. So, if you _

_have a suggestion let me know. Also, any name ideas would be appreciated. Thanks!_

_Now, sit back, relax, and enjoy!!!!_

**Chapter 26**

"Andrew, what do you have to report?"

"The old man remains tight lipped about the boy's whereabouts, my lord." Andrew replied monotonously. "While it would make sense for him to be withing the school at this time, I cannot access the student roster nor the school itself."

"Interesting." Voldemort mused. "Thank you, Andrew. You may leave."

Heavy lidded, violet eyes had watched the exchange and the fox demon's exit from deep withing the shadows. The owner of said eyes quietly made her way slowly toward the middle of the room where her professed lord and master sat. His snake-like visage no longer repulsed the half crazed woman as it once had. "My lord." she said, bowing low and making herself known.

"Ah, Bellatrix. My most faithful." Voldemort hissed in what could be considered compassion. "What brings you to me?"

"My lord, I do not mean to question you or you judgment..." she began meekly, awaiting the punishment that was sure to come.

"You wish to know why no punishment was met out for Andrew's lack of information." he said simply. "Bella, do quit prostrating and cowering before me, it is not very becoming."

Bellatrix looked up to see something she had not seen in years, Voldemort was smiling. It was not the sinister smile of one filled with blood lust, but happiness. Her lord was happy! "My lord?"

"The boy will be gone by the end of the year, Bella. I can feel it with every fiber of my being."

"But what of the demons who guard him?"

"they will be taken care of by Andrew's associates. So, they are of no consequence to us. Now come, Bella. Let's go celebrate the coming victory."

"What do you mean, you won't go against the tai-youkai?" Andrew bellowed, pacing about the clearing.

"The tai-youkai and his generals have made it very clear that any who appose him will be dealt with personally." a lesser demon said.

"How can you cower before him when he is not here! He is weak! He can and will be overthrown! All you have to do is stand together."

"I apologize, Matsudaira, but we are all in agreement. If you choose to stand against Sesshomaru-sama, you will stand alone."

Matsudaira watched as the demons left the clearing to their respected homes and lives, leaving him alone. What was he going to do about that bitch and her brothers? He knew he would not be able to take them all on by himself and win. There had to be some youkai who were not afraid to take on the tai-youkai himself. He just needed to look harder, that's all. But where?

* * *

"Mrs. Greenleaf!"

Inuai turned toward the call to see McGonagal and the English tai-youkai making their way through the crowds of students. "Headmistress, James-sama. To what do I owe this pleasure?" she inquired.

"Perhaps we could speak somewhere less public." McGonagal said, turning to eye a couple of gossips that had stopped to listen.

"Of course, my quarters are close by. We can talk freely there." Inuai quickly moved toward her rooms, making sure her brothers would be there as well.

"What's going on, lil sis?" Inuyasha asked as she came through the door into the common room.

"I do not believe you were invited to this conversation, young man. Please leave." Reginald said pompously as he entered the room.

"Now, Reg, is that any way to talk to my brother and second in command?" Sesshomaru commented amused, startling the rotund man.

"Sesshomaru-sama! I apologize! I did not realize." he stammered, bowing low.

"It's quite alright, Reg. Now, what's so important that you came all this way to tell us yourself?"

"It's Andrew." Reginald sighed as he sat on the sofa in front of the fireplace. He gratefully accepted the cup of Earl Grey, taking a sip before continuing. "He's gone missing, and I'm afraid that something untoward has befallen him."

"Was he abducted?" McGonagal asked, already fearing for the students safety.

"No, Headmistress. He took some leave time to go visit his ailing mother, fearing that she would not be long for this world."

"Maybe she got better and made him stay to take care of her." Inuyasha commented.

"I do wish that were the case, but he would have sent notice." Reginald sighed looking older than anyone had ever seen him.

"When did he take his leave?" Inuai asked timidly, dreading the answer.

"Six months ago. And not a word from him this whole time."

"Is there anything else you can tell us that would help to locate him?"

"That's the reason I came, Sesshomaru-sama. His mother is in Japan, near Musashi." Shock met the statement causing the tai-youkai to question just what he had said to cause it.

"Mr. James, have you ever heard of the youkai known as Matsudaira?" Inuai asked gently but with determination shining in her eyes.

"Of course I have. You don't think?" he uttered, fear evident in his voice and posture.

"No, Andrew was not taken by Matsudaira."

"But how can you be so certain?"

"Because Andrew is Matsudaira."

"James-sama, allow me to tell you a story about my childhood."

* * *

"Mr. Potter, please remain after class for a moment." Inuai called out as she dismissed the rest of the students.

"What's wrong, Mum?" he asked concerned, seeing the troubled look on the hanyou's face.

"Come sit down, Harry. We feel that everything is coming to a head. Voldemort is on the move. He sent someone to secure the demons' help. Luckily for us, we prevented most from joining up." Inuai said tiredly.

"So, you think that Voldemort's gearing up for the final battle?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

"Stay close to Hermione. Make sure somebody is always with her when you can't be." she warned him. "And make sure it's someone you would trust with _your_ life. I don't want ole Moldyshorts to get any advantage over you."

"You don't think he' really stoop that low, do you?"

"You'd better believe he would, kiddo." Inuyasha said, walking into the room. "This is the snake-faced bastard we're talking about."

"Hey, Uncle Yasha. What've you got there?"

"This, little man, is what we like to call 'The Power that He Knows Not'." Inuyasha said, exaggerating the name of the sword.

"You mean, you got me a sword?"

"Yes and no. I had Totosai make a sword especially for you." Inuai said gently, pulling the masterpiece from the scabbard. "It's comprised of Inuyasha, Sesshomaru, and my fangs, with a little something extra thrown in."

Harry looked at the sword in awe. It was stunning. No other word would do it justice. The blade was beautifully crafted, showing a phoenix in flight on one side and a Siberian tiger charging into battle on the other. "Wow."

"Yes, Totosai really outdid himself this time." Sesshomaru commented, causing Harry to jump as he hadn't heard the tai-youkai come in.

"So, what about the little extra thing you mentioned?"

"Do you see the groove that runs the length of the sword?" At Harry's nod, she continued. "Inside that grove are runes. If at anytime you lose your wand and are close enough to Tom, just cut your finger her at the top, your blood will fill the groove. Get the blade into his body and use a curse that will harm him."

"So, the Killing Curse then." Harry sighed, resigned to his fate.

"A simple Reducto would suffice. I don't want you ripping apart your soul for some lunatic on a power trip." Inuai explained. "Now, it's getting late so, get back to the dorms quickly."

"Thanks Mum, guys."

"And Harry? Don't forget what I said about Hermione."

* * *

"Wow, Harry! That thing's just... wow!" Ron exclaimed as he looked over the work of art that was Harry's sword.

"Yeah, Mum and Uncles Yasha and Sess really went overboard with this thing." Harry said a bit embarrassed. "You'd think it's more for decoration on a wall then for fighting."

"They didn't choose these animals lightly, did they?" Hermione asked, passing her hand over the tiger engraving.

"Hmm?"

"The engravings, the phoenix and the tiger, they have a special meaning and connection to you." she stated more than asked. Ron looked questioningly at his two best friends.

"Uh, yeah." Harry said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "They do."

"And? Are you going to tell us?" Ron asked impatiently.

"The phoenix signifies Fawkes and the light. It also represents everything good and pure that I'm fighting to save." Harry said with determination before sighing and taking the sword back from Ron. "And the tiger is me." It was a simple statement that took a moment to sink in for his two friends.

"You mean, you finally did it?" Hermione asked, her eyes shining with hope. Harry nodded, not needing to elaborate any further.

"Good on ya, mate!" Ron cried happily, patting Harry on the back. The portrait hole opened during their small celebration, causing the trio to look up suddenly.

"Hello."

"Luna!" Ron called, jumping up and heading toward the blond Ravenclaw. "How did you know the password?"

"Nargles, silly." she said in her normal dreamy voice.

"Of course! And I suppose the Nargles also told you that Neville's up in the dorm, right?" Ron teased good naturally.

"No, they didn't, but thank you for the information, Ronald." the petite blond said, smiling up at Ron's completely befuddled look. She beamed at Harry and Hermione before skipping up to the boys' dorm to find her beau.

"That girl is completely nutters." Ron said softly as he stumbled back to his friends.

"I think she's sweet." Hermione replied, smiling at her two boys.

"And she's a damn good match for Neville." Harry commented.

"Harry!" Hermione scolded him, smacking his arm. "Watch your language! There's a lady present."

"Really? Where? I don't see any around." he teased, looking around the common room. He looked at Hermione and couldn't hold his laughter any longer at her affronted look.

"I'll have you know, Mr. Potter, that I am the very definition of a lady!"

"No, love. You're not a lady." Harry said seriously, cupping her face in his hands. "You are the queen of my heart, always and forever."

"Damn, Harry!" Ron said, turning from the scene and coloring at the affection between the two. "How's a guy supposed to live up to that?"

"Oh, please, Ron. I'm sure Hannah likes you just the way you are." Hermione said sincerely. "Besides, Harry doesn't set the standard for all boyfriends."

"You haven't heard the girls talking lately. I have." Ron replied, shuddering slightly at some of the things he had heard.

"I'm sure it's not as bad as you're making it out to be." Harry commented dryly.

"Alright, mate. Live in your own little world of denial." Ron sighed. "I'm gonna go find Hannah."

* * *

"Come on, Potter! Move your ass!" Inuyasha yelled, bringing his sword down toward the young wizard.

Harry brought his sword up to avoid being cleaved in half. He was sweating profusely after two hours of constant battle scenarios and was thanking every deity he knew for his rigorous daily workouts. After twenty-five more minutes of defending himself from Inuyasha's heavy attacks, Harry was able to get the upper hand and disarm the hanyou. "Do you yield?" he asked breathlessly, holding the blade to his uncle's neck.

"Yeah, pup, I yield. Now get that thing away from me before you slip up and cut off my head." Inuyasha chuckled lightly, moving the blade slightly with his hand.

"Alright, but only for Aunt Kagome's sake. She doesn't need to raise those twins by herself."

"Face it, pup, you're just scared to face her temper. But she is pretty fucking scary when she's mad." he said, patting Harry on the back.

"I heard that!"

"But you're absolutely adorable when you're mad!" Inuyasha called, jogging over toward his very pregnant mate.

"Hey, Aunt Gome. Feeling okay?" Harry asked, helping Inuyasha get her to her feet.

"I'm feeling just fine, Harry. Just tired." Kagome replied, weariness showing clearly through her smile.

"I can't wait to meet these two." he said excitedly, placing his hand on her belly and receiving a kick in return.

"Well, I can honestly say they're excited to meet you too since I've been having contractions for the past three hours." Kagome said, grimacing as another pain hit her.

"Why didn't you tell me, wench!" Inuyasha shouted, distress clouding his features.

"Because I knew you'd freak out! And besides, you were teaching Harry. He's more important right now!" Kagome yelled back, her face reddening with her anger.

"Okay, well, um, I'm going to go get Madam Pomfrey now." Harry said, making his way slowly toward the door and away from the arguing couple. He quickly turned and jogged through the corridors, hoping the mediwitch was in the Hospital wing and not out on the pitch for the Hufflepuff/Ravenclaw game. The two houses tended to play fairly and very rarely were there any injuries.

Unfortunately, luck wasn't on his side as the Infirmary was deserted. Swearing under his breath in Elvish, Harry started the long trek to the pitch only to be stopped by the sound of laughter from behind him.

"And just where did you learn those words?"

Harry spun around quickly coming face to face with a tall, dark haired man. "Who are you?" he asked suspiciously, his hand inching towards his wand.

"Easy, young man. I came to speak with Legolas, but it seems I've gotten myself completely lost." He spoke with a regal tone and carried himself with an air of confidence.

"I'm sorry, but I can't help you right now." Harry said quickly, looking about the halls for another student. "I have to get some help for my aunt."

"Is it serious? Perhaps I can help." he said, walking into a shaft of light. His hair hung to his shoulders in soft waves and his brown eyes had a gentleness and a weariness to them.

"She's in labor, but Madam Pomfrey's down at the pitch." The words tumbled from his mouth before Harry could stop them.

"Well, let's go to your aunt. I'm sure we can find a way to get a hold of this Pomfrey." the man said simply, walking down the corridor.

"That's all well and good," Harry smiled trying to hold in his laughter, "but you're going the wrong way. You keep going that way, and you'll have your death foretold."

"Excuse me?"

"That leads straight to Trelawny's classroom. She's a bit off her rocker."

"So, are you a student here?"

"Yeah. Name's Harry." he said, extending his hand toward the man.

"Aragon." The man grasped Harry's hand firmly. "Harry as in Harry Potter?"

"Yes. How did you know?"

"Legolas has spoken of you often. It is his wish that you take the throne one day." Aragon said confidently.

"Really? I thought it wasn't possible because I'm human." Harry said, shocked that his father thought so highly of him.

"He feels you could be a truly great king to his people, but knows it will never be. It's not just because of your humanity though." Aragon replied after a few moments of silence. "But you would have to ask your father for the specific details."

"I don't think I will." Harry said after a moment of thought.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I mean, I already have enough on my plate with being the Boy-Who-Lived and supposed Savior of the Wizarding World. I don't think I want to worry about the possibility of ruling a whole country and people."

"Very true. You seem to be wise beyond your years."

"Thanks. Uh, here's Mum and Dad's quarters. They should be in there with Aunt Gome and Uncle Yasha." Harry said, motioning to the portrait of the Great Dog demon. "Password's Gambit."

"Thank you, Harry." The young wizard just waved over his shoulder as he jogged down the stairs, making his way toward the pitch.

* * *

"How the fuck were you able to stay so damn calm when you went through this?" Inuyasha spat as he paced back and forth before the Infirmary doors.

"Inuyasha! Stop that infernal pacing before you make me sick." Sesshomaru commented dryly, turning away from where the hanyou was wearing a trench in the floor.

"Like you know what the hell I'm going through here!" Inuyasha yelled, getting nose to nose with the tai-youkai.

"Perhaps not, but I will someday." Legolas simply stood back and watched the two brothers bicker back and forth, a small smile gracing his features.

"Ahem, Mr. Takahasi? We're ready for you now." the meidwitch said softly.

"Is Kagome okay?" he asked nervously.

"She's comfortable, sir." the young woman led him over where Kagome lay on a bed, a sheet stretched across her like a curtain cutting her in two. "Both of the babies are breach, sir."

"Breach?"

"Yes, sir." she continued, not noticing his confusion. "Normally, we would be able to manually manipulate the child into the correct position, bit it's hard on the mother and not easily done with multiples. There's also the fact that your wife has placenta praevia. Which leaves us with only one recourse; a C-section."

"A a C-section?" Inuyasha asked dumbly, looking toward a small table with what looked like sharp objects, making him swallow hard.

"That's the common term for a Caesarean section. Basically, we will be going in and removing the babies instead of having your wife deliver them vaginally. You can sit by your wife's head." she explained, leaving him standing by Kagome.

"Inuyasha, I'm scared." The fear and uncertainty in her voice brought him back to the present. He immediately sat down on the stool provided for him and started carding his hands through her raven locks.

"It'll be okay, Kagome." Inuyasha said softly. "Before you know it, the pups will be here with us, safe and sound."

"But why can't they take them with magic?" she asked, tears falling steadily from her eyes.

"I don't know, MeMe. I don't know." He couldn't remember Kagome ever being this scared. Even when they had been battling against Naraku. And if Inuyasha was honest with himself, he was just as scared.

"Hey, how are you guys doing?"

"Inuai, why aren't they using magic?" Kagome asked tearfully.

"They will once the pups are here." Inuai said gently, giving Kagome's hand a squeeze.

"But why not now?" Kagome asked, fresh tears making their way into her hair.

"They can't." Inuai said shortly, not wishing to discuss this so close to the start of the operation.

"Why?" Inuyasha barked out, upset due to his mate's distress.

Inuai sighed, looking around the Infirmary. Poppy and the Healers from St. Mungos were a few feet away discussing the procedure. "Listen, I'm not supposed to be telling you about this because of the stress it could put on you, Kagome. But there is no way that we can use magic to get the pups out. The only spell we have to cut through anything is the cutting curse, but there's no way to control it. If Poppy were to use it, neither Kagome or the pups would survive. That's why we're doing the C-section the Muggle way. It's safest for everyone."

"Inuai?" Poppy called from the end of the bed.

"Coming, Poppy." she called before turning back to her brother and sister in law. "Don't worry, I'll make sure everything goes smoothly."

"Alright, Kagome, we're going to start now." Poppy said gently. "In about twenty minutes, you'll be proud parents."

_**Blanket Disclaimer for A Hanyou's Life:**_

_I do not own anything you recognize. I only own Inuai, Siri, and Mist. _

_Let me know what you want the twins to be and any name ideas by using the little review button down there. Thanks again!!!!_


	27. Summer Plans

**_Hey, everyone! I know it's been quite awhile since I've updated, and I am truly sorry._**

**_I have two other stories, besides this one, trying to get out at the same time. _**

**_But I wanted to get something out to you, even though I know it's short._**

**_So, sit back, relax, and enjoy! _**

**Chapter 27**

"Hey, Rus." Inuai called down the Staff table to the dour man. "You and I need to have a little chat."

"If this is about Potter's detention tomorrow night, he's not getting out of it." Snape snarled out. "And stop using that infernal name!"

"Now, Severus. Is that any way to talk in front of the students?" Minerva admonished. "I believe the antechamber off the hall will suit your needs nicely."

The two professors made their way to the pro offered room amidst the speculation of the student body. "What in Merlin's name could you possibly want now?"

"You were partially right earlier, this is about Harry. You still go to Spinner's End every summer, correct?" Inuai asked pointedly. Snape glared at the hanyou, having an inkling of where this was going, but nodded in the affirmative. "I need a favor from you. I need you to tutor Harry this summer."

"Potter hardly needs tutoring. He is excelling in all of his classes, including Potions. And I hardly think I could ever teach the inept brat Occlumency."

"First of all, Harry is not inept but any means as he already know Occlumency and is very proficient in Legilimency. Secondly, you are the only one who can tutor him. You're the only one who knows the subject."

"And just what subject is that?"

"Voldemort."

Severus looked at Inuai as though she had just sprouted wings and was flying laps around the room. "Surely, you're joking."

"I know that it's unpleasant for you to relive those years. But you're the only one that's been in his presence for so long. You know the Dark Lord so well, some would even say almost intimately. Please, Rus. You may be the one to help bring down Moldy Shorts for good." Inuai said determinedly, giving the ex-spy her best puppy dog look in the hopes that he would give in.

Snape sighed, bringing his hand up to the bridge of his nose. Why did he always seem to get pulled back into the mess when he thought he was finally out? "Give me time to think about this, and I 'll give you an answer soon."

"Thank you, Rus!" Inuai cried, throwing her arms around the Potions Master, thoroughly shocking him. "I know you'll make the right decision."

* * *

Severus Snape wasn't a professor known for being lenient during detentions, so it was no surprise that Harry was not looking forward to his time in the dungeons. It certainly didn't help his mood knowing that his mother would be leaving for Mirkwood before the end of the school year. Why couldn't she just stay here in this realm? He quietly knocked on the door as he pulled his shields up fully.

"Enter."

Harry quickly entered the classroom and made his way to the front where Snape was waiting. "Shall I start on the cauldrons, sir?" he asked as they stood there in silence for a few moments.

"That won't be necessary, Mr. Potter. The first years are able to fit into them quite nicely to get all the nooks and crannies. We have more important matters to attend to." Snape said as he smoothly made his way out of the room, beckoning the young wizard to follow.

Harry wondered about his professor's strange behavior, but followed along dutifully. It certainly wouldn't do to upset him anymore than he had already. He quietly followed along behind the stoic man and wondered, not for the first time, what the trick was to making your robes billow as you walked. It certainly didn't look like Snape did it himself, so what was it?

Harry nearly ran into Snape as the Potions Master stopped abruptly before a very familiar door. "Are you going to give me the password, or do I have to resort to knocking?" Snape asked snidely.

"Umm...You'll have to knock, sir. They haven't given me the password since the...er..._incident_." Harry said sheepishly, blushing as he looked down at his shoes.

Snape huffed in annoyance, but turned to knock. He really didn't need to know what incident Potter was talking about. The door opened a crack to show two golden eyes peering out at them.

"I'm here to speak with Inuai." Snape stated imperiously.

"Only those with family business and a member of the family may enter at this time."

"Hey, Uncle Sess." Harry said brightly, stepping out from behind the Potions Master. "I'm here with him." The door opened fully, and Sesshomaru motioned the two wizards into the room. After closing the door, he went to one of the stairwells and growled at on of the portraits.

"Please, sit down, Master Snape." the tai youkai said smoothly, taking his own seat in the room. "So, Harry, what did you do to cause your professor to visit with you in tow?"

"Nothing that I'm aware of." he said with uncertainly.

"The boy has done nothing out of the ordinary. However, you sister, on the other hand." Snape said sikily.

"Ah, Rus, I didn't know you cared so much."

"What have I told you about that ridiculous name?" Snape growled, turning his ire toward the bain of his existence for the past month.

Inuai stood at the base of the stairs in a beautiful kimono, a small, somewhat mischievous smile oh her face. "Would you rather I call you Russy?"

Severus turned an interesting shade of puce as he blustered for a moment. "You shall do no such thing!" he thundered. "I've come to discuss Potter's summer arrangements."

"So, you have decided?" she asked, kneeling beside a low table with a tea set on it.

"I have." he said, accepting a cup from Inuai. "You've informed Potter of what is to be expected?"

"I'm right here, you know!" Harry said indignantly.

"Perhaps you'd care to explain things to the lad." Snape commented as he sipped his tea.

"I asked Severus to tutor you this summer." Inuai said simply. "And now he's going to tell me his answer, is that correct?"

"I believe so." Snape put his cup down on the table, drawing a glare form Sesshomaru. "Potter, you will be staying with me this summer, so that you might be tutored fully."

"You've got to be kidding!" Harry cried. "We can't stand each other during normal class time. You put us together for a whole summer, and we'll kill each other!"

"I assure you, Mr. Potter, there will be no killing. I will be teaching you everything I know about Voldemort." Snape said smoothly. "You will, of course, have plenty of free time to see you friends or whatever else you decide to do."

"Please tell me you're not serious about this, Mum." Harry pleaded. He knew it was childish to beg, but he _really_ didn't want to stay with Snape for any amount of time.

"Harry," Inuai said calmly, placing her hands on his shoulders, "don't think for a moment that I am abandoning you. I'm trying to help you succeed against Moldy Shorts. You've got every spell and attach we can teach you. And now, Severus is going to give you the info to win against this monster."

"Fine, but I still don't like it." he mumbled.

"Of course, pup." she laughed. "Now, why don't you go change into your robes." Harry gave her a hug before darting you the stairs and out of sight. "Now, Rus, I hate to cut this short, but tonight is a special night for our family. So, you'll have to leave now." Inuai said, getting up and guiding the Potions Master to the door. "We'll discuss everything more indepth tomorrow. Good night."

"Of course. Good night."

* * *

_**AN: This isn't actually the chapter I wanted to put up, but the original got lost by my beautiful little girl. Unfortunately, I will probably never be able to find it again or be able to reproduce it. If I do decide to try and reproduce it, it will probably be put up as an outtake. **_

**_If anyone would like to write some outtakes for this story, let me know. I would love to see what you guys can come up with._**

_**Blanket disclaimer for A Hanyou's Life:** _

_I don't own anything you recognize. If I did, I certainly wouldn't be writing fanfiction._


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